The Heart
by his4evergirl
Summary: KyouxTohru. Rated T just in case. This takes place where the anime leaves off. It's summer time and the gang is having fun. Tohru's birthday, a secret admirer, reserecting the dead, and much more. Romance for all characters. OCs will be in. My first fanic
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket nor do I own any of the characters. The series and all the characters belong to Natsuki Takaya. **

The Heart

Tohru woke up to another bright and sunny summer morning. She got up and got dressed for the day. She went downstairs to the kitchen and started fixing breakfast. She set the table and went to find the guys.

Shigure was in his study reading the morning paper. "Breakfast is ready." She told him.

"I thought I smelled yet another one of your delicious meals." Shigure replied in his usual way.

"Do you know where Kyou and Yuki are?"

"Kyou woke up early and went for a walk. Yuki went out to check on the garden."

"Oh okay. I'm sure they'll be back soon." Tohru replied in her sweet voice.

The two walked to the dining room table and sat down to eat breakfast. After a little while Tohru decided that she needed to ask Shigure a very important question. "Shigure?"

"Yes, Tohru?"

"May I have tomorrow off?"

"Yes of course. May I ask why?"

"Oh well…um… tomorrow is just a very special day for me. I'd like to have it off and go see somebody special."

"Oh well then, you have fun."

"Thank you so much Shigure." Tohru replied with a polite bow. Kyou and Yuki walked into the house.

Kyou sniffed the air. "Breakfast smells delicious." He said taking a seat at the table and digging into the wonderful spread.

Tohru smiled. She was always happy when Kyou enjoyed his breakfast.

"This is a truly wonderful breakfast Miss Honda." Yuki said after taking a few bites.

"Thank you." Tohru replied with a smile.

Everyone finished their breakfast and Tohru cleaned up the table. Tohru went into the kitchen and started looking through the cabinets. _Well I'll just have to go to the store tonight._ Tohru thought to herself. She found a pen and paper and began writing her shopping list down. Then she found her shoes and a small purse.

"Where are you headed?" Kyou asked coming up behind Tohru.

Tohru jumped up in the air. "Oh Kyou you scared me. I'm going to the store. I need to pick up a few things."

"Mind if I go with you? I…um… need to get something."

"Sure." Tohru said smiling brightly.

The pair walked to town. "I gotta go to another store." Kyou said. "I'll be back in an hour to pick you up. Okay?"

"Okay." Tohru replied flashing yet another bright and happy smile. Kyou couldn't help but return the smile.

As Kyou walked to the little shop his smile grew bigger. He walked into the shop and said, "Hello." To the owner.

"Mr. Sohma the special gift you ordered is ready." The shop keeper replied as he handed Kyou a small blue box with a silver ribbon tied to it. Kyou untied the ribbon and opened the box. His smile was from ear to ear. The gift was perfect. He tied the ribbon back and placed the box into his pocket.

When Kyou reached the market he saw Tohru waiting for him. "I hope you haven't been waiting very long." He said sprinting to Tohru.

"Nope. I've only been here for about five minutes." She replied happily.

"That's good." Kyou replied, his ear to ear smile returning.

"Well you seem to be in a good mood, Kyou." Tohru said, her smile growing.

Kyou's face turned red. "Yeah, so?" Kyou shouted angrily. He instantly regretted it when he saw Tohru's beautiful smile disappear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." Kyou then took her hand and the pair walked back home together, smiling the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

Tohru woke up early the next day. She looked out at the sky. It was still a little gray. _Perfect._ Tohru thought to herself. _Nobody will be up yet._ She quickly got dressed in a pink sun dress. She walked downstairs to the kitchen and pulled out the things she had bought the day before. She then began making a chocolate cake. It would be a very small cake since she would be the only one eating it. Today was a very special day for Tohru. It was her birthday and her mother's as well **(A/N: I don't know when Tohru or her mother's birthdays are, but for this story I need them to be the same day in the summer. Sorry to anyone who knows their birthdays and may take offense to this)**. As soon as the cake cooled off, Tohru put the icing on it and then found a carrier to put it in. She found her shoes and walked to the cemetery to her mother's grave.

When she arrived Tohru knelt at Kyoko's grave and took the cake out of the carrier. "Happy birthday to us, Mom!" Tohru stated brightly. "I made our favorite, chocolate cake." She took out a couple of candles and lit them. Then she began to sing "Happy Birthday." "Now let's make a wish mom." Tohru said and then she blew out the candles. Tohru sat quietly as she ate the cake. After she finished the cake she then sat and talked a little while with her mother.

Meanwhile back at the house…

"You stupid Rat!" Kyou shouted as he fell from the ladder that Yuki was supposed to be holding up.

"It's not my fault that you can't be balanced on a ladder. You'd think that all that training would have paid off."

Kyou stood up and launched himself at Yuki. Yuki quickly dodged the attack and dealt Kyou a swift kick knocking him off of his feet once again.

"You two can't even get along one day for our sweet Tohru!" Shigure interrupted. "Today is Toruh's birthday and we plan a surprise party for her and all you two can do is argue. You two ought to feel ashamed of yourselves, ruining sweet little Tohru's day like this."

Shigure's little speech did its job. The two boys called a truce for the day. Just then Hatori, Aya, Kisa, Haru, and Momiji walked in.

"You didn't tell me HE was coming!" Yuki shouted at Shigure pointing to his older brother Aya.

"Oh, I thought I did. Well oopsie." Shigure replied in his fake apologetic voice.

"I ought to…" Yuki began angrily.

"Just remember yuki, this is Tohru's day and you don't want to ruin it for her."

"Fine, I'll call a truce with HIM too."

"My little brother finally loves me." Aya said dramatically.

"What about me?" Shigure interjected. "I thought we had something special, Aya."

"Oh but we do Shigure." Aya replied playing Shigure's game.

"I can't believe you people." Hatori said shaking his head.

Just then the oven dinged. "That means it's time to get the cake out." Kyou said eagerly ready to get away from all these crazy people. Kyou sat the cake on a cooling rack and began to make the icing. He was glad he knew how to cook and bake and make home-made icing. He especially liked being able to bake for Tohru.

As Kyou mixed the ingredients for the icing, he thought about all the meals Tohru had made for him. He was happy to be able to do something nice for her. Even though, it wasn't nearly as nice as what she had recently done. She had seen him in his True Form and yet she still wanted them to stay together. He smiled as he thought of how she had hugged the arm if his hideous True Form and confessed how scared she was, but how much she wanted them to stay together. He remembered how he had turned human again and then pulled Tohru into his arms. Those few brief moments before he transformed into his cat form were the most wonderful of his life. Even after he changed into a cat and she had cradled him in her arms was wonderful.

The icing was done and the cake had cooled off. Kyou put the icing on the cake and then found an icing tube. He wrote "Happy Birthday Tohru." On the cake. All of a sudden , Kyou heard a large crash in the dining room. He decided it was best to leave the cake where it was and go in and investigate. When Kyou went into the dining room and saw Ritsu getting up off the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Ritsu screamed at the top of his lungs. Then he picked up a bag and gave it to Shigure. "I brought jelly buns, but at least when I fell they didn't get ruined. I'm still sorry for falling and being so clumbsy!"

"Ri, calm down. It's alright." Shigure said.

"No it's not! I ruined a perfectly wonderful day!"

"Tohru wouldn't want you to be so upset over a little accident." Shigure replied.

"Oh you're right! I shouldn't even be here ruining Tohru's birthday like this!"

"You're probably right, but I know for a fact that Tohru likes you and wants you here."

"You…you really think she does, Shigure?"

"Oh, I know she does. Now just calm down and pull yourself together."

"Okay." Ri replied taking a seat and finally calming down.

Kyou went in and grabbed the cake and sat it down on the table. He then went in and grabbed the candles and put them on the cake.

"What kind of cake did you make, Kyou?" Momiji inquired his mouth watering at the smell.

"Chocolate, it's Tohru's faveorite." Kyou replied for once not irritated by Momiji. "I think that I hear her coming." Kyou lit the candles and everyone waited quietly for Tohru to come in, the candles the only thing lighting the house.

"Hello, is anybody home?" came Tohru's sweet voice. She walked into the dining room and turned on the light.

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted.

"Oh!" Tohru shouted as she jumped in surprise.

"Come on. Blow out your candles and make a wish." Momiji said impatiently.

"Okay." Tohru replied kneeling at the table in front of the cake. She sat for a moment thinking of the perfect wish and then blew out her candles when it came to her.

"What did you wish for?" Momiji asked excitedly.

"I can't tell you because then it won't come true." Tohru replied with a big smile.

"Which piece of the cake would you like?" Kyou asked tohru.

"Oh…um… that piece." Tohru answered pointing out the top right corner piece. Kyou happily cut the piece for Tohru and sat the plate down in front of her.

He then cut the cake and divvied it out to everyone. He took a seat next to Tohru and watched as she devoured her slice of cake. "Do you like the cake?"

"Uh-huh." Tohru answered with a smile. "It's delicious. Did you make it?"

Kyou nodded.

"Okay everyone!" Shigure said after everyone had finished their cake. "It's time for Tohru to open her gifts!"

"No!" Tohru objected. "You all have already done enough. Throwing this surprise party with all of you here is so much. I couldn't accept anymore."

"Don't be silly Miss Honda." Yuki said.

"Yeah, Sissy we want to give you presents." Kisa said.

"Oh okay." Tohru said. She couldn't say no to Kisa.

"Mine first!" Aya said pulling out a large rectangular box.

"Okay." Tohru replied brightly. She opened the box and found the dress that she had tried on at Aya's shop when she went there with Yuki. "Oh, I love it!" Tohru said brightly.

"I thought you would." Aya said with a big smile.

"Mine next!" Shigure recited. "I just know you are going to love it!" He then proceeded to hand Tohru a large white rectangular ox similar to the one Aya had just handed her.

Tohru opened the box to find a nurse's uniform. "Oh um… I don't know what to say." She said trying not to sound ungreatful.

"Well you do take such good care of us andI just thought that next time I get sick you could play my nur…" Shigure was cut off by Kyou and Yuki beating him up.

"You pervert." Yuki said as he slammed his fist into Shigure's face.

"You are sick and disgust me." Kyou said as he kicked Shigure in the stomache.

Soon the two finished their work and sat back down at the table. "Now who would like to give Miss Honda their gift for her next?" Yuki asked as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, me, me, me!" Momiji shouted jumping up and down. "Well actually it's from me, Kisa, and Hari, but yeah us next!"

Momiji handed Tohru a small white box with a blue ribbon tied around it. Tohru accepted the box and opened it. Inside was something so stunning and beautiful. It was a silver charm bracelet with twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac and the Cat. "Oh, I love it!" Tohru exclaimed putting it on her wrist.

"Yay!" Momiji cried happily.

"I'll go next." Haru said handing Tohru a small black box with a white ribbon tied to it.

"Oh, thank you Haru." Tohru said as she took the box from him. She opened it and found a it!" Tohru exclaimed putting it on her wrist.

"Yay!" Momiji cried happily.

"I'll go next." Haru said handing Tohru a small black box with a white ribbon tied to it.

"Oh, thank you Haru." Tohru said as she took the box from him. She opened it and found a Yin-Yang charm in it.

"It's for your bracelet." Haru said and then he got an evil glint in his eyes, "every time you were it, you can think of me. You know you want…" Haru was cut off by Yuki and Kyou slamming their fists into his face.

As soon as they were finished, they sat down and once again pretended that nothing had happened. "So who is next?" Kyou inquired.

"I'll go." Ritsu piped up as he carefully handed Tohru a small white box tied with a red ribbon.

"Thank you Ritsu." Tohru said as she opened the box. She found a beautiful flower hair beret. It was in the shape of a rose and was purple. "I love it!"

Yuki got up silently and handed a small box to Tohru. Tohru opened the box and pulled out beautiful pink hair ribbons. "I love them!"

Kyou then got up and handed Tohru the box he had picked up the day before. "I had it made special for you."

"Oh." Tohru said as she opened the box. She gasped when she saw what it was. It was a beautiful silver heart shaped locket. On the front side was engraved a picture of a cat. Tohru opened the locket and found a picture of her holding Kyou in his cat form. Happy tears welled in Tohru's eyes. "I love it Kyou."

"Here let me help you put it on." Kyou said reaching around to pull the necklace out of Tohru's hands and then he helped her put it on. Then he turned around to face her and wiped away the tears that had started to fall down her face.

Tohru realized that she was crying and she pulled herself together. "Thank you everyone. It means so much to me that you all came here to celebrate my birthday. And thank you all for all the wonderful gifts."

Soon everyone left and a huge mess was left. Tohru started to clean up the mess when Kyou stopped her. "Nuh-uh. You are not allowed to lift a finger today. It's your birthday, which means you get to relax while we clean."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Yes, Miss Honda, we have it all under control." Yuki said coming out of the kitchen and picking up the dirty dishes. "Even Shigure and I are helping out."

"Well okay then." Tohru said as she got up. Tohru decided to go upstairs and take a shower. As she let the warm water calmed and relaxed Tohru, she thought about her day. _I am so luck to have such wonderful people in my life._ Tohru thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

After her shower was finished, Tohru turned off the water and got into her pajamas. She then walked downstairs to see that the boys had cleaned everything up and were now sitting down in front of the TV. Yuki was going through the movies and then he looked up to see Tohru.

"Oh Miss Honda, would you like to watch a movie with us?" Yuki asked politely.

"I'd love to!" Tohru said happily walking to sit in the middle seat of the couch next to Kyou.

"Since you're the birthday girl, you should pick." Kyou said looking at sweet Tohru.

"I think that sounds like a great idea." Shigure agreed.

"Yes, what would you like to watch, Miss Honda?" Yuki asked surprising Tohru by agreeing with Kyou.

"Oh, whatever is fine with me." Tohru replied sweetly.

"Just pick something. It will be a lot easier than me fighting with that rat, Yuki." Kyou said a little huffy.

"Um… oh this one looks good." Tohru said picking up a random movie. Unfortunately for poor sweet Tohru it was a horror flick.

"O…kay." Yuki said putting the movie in the DVD player and then taking his seat on the other side of Tohru.

The boys sat through the movie unflenching, while poor Tohru sat hugging a pillow and hiding her face in it every time the bad guy jumped out of nowhere. For Tohru, the movie seemed to last forever. After what seemed like hours the movie was finally over. The gang decided to go to bed.

Tohru fell asleep quickly that night, much to her surprise. She dreamed that she was walking in the woods and it was a very peaceful and beautiful day. She looked to her right and noticed that Kyou was walking beside her holding her hand. She smiled as she saw their fingers laced together and then she looked up to see his red eyes smiling into her blue ones. It wasn't long before her peaceful dream was interrupted. All of a sudden the clouds turned dark and so did the forest around her and Kyou. Then a man in a mask jumped out from behind a bush and Kyou instantly pulled Tohru behind him to protect her. The man in a mask pulled out a sword and started to bring it straight down on Kyou. Touhru screamed out, "No! Kyou!" Then she found herself awake in her room.

Kyou burst into her room and turned the on the lights. He had a ball bat in his hand ready to fight whatever scared Tohru. "What is it what's wrong?" He asked panicked. Just then yuki and Shigure burst into the room. "What's happeneing?" they asked in alarm.

"I…I…just had a bad dream." Tohru spoke before she burst into tears.

Kyou put the bat down and walked over to Tohru's bed. E sat on the bed beside her and took her hand. "What happened?" He asked reaching his hand over to wipe away her tears.

She told him all about it. "Nobody is ever gonna hurt you. I won't let them." Kyou told her.

"Neither will I, Miss Honda." Yuki said.

"I'm useless, but I will do my best to protect you." Shigure chimed in.

"No, that wasn't what scared me." Tohru said wiping at more tears.

"Then what did?" Kyou asked concern filling his voice.

"When he came after you. I thought he was going to…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"You shouldn't worry about me. Nobody will ever hurt me." Kyou said reaching to wipe more of Tohru's tears away. "Nothing is ever going to happen to any of us."

"Okay." Tohru said with a little sniffle.

Kyou ruffled Tohru's hair a little and then he said, "Now let's all try to get some sleep." Then he got up and walked out the door along with Shigure and Yuki. Kyou turned the lights off told Tohru, "Sweet dreams," and walked out the door and went to his room.

Kyou dozed off quickly hoping that Tohru would be alright. He did have a smile on his face as he thought of what had really disturbed her. She had been worried about him. A few hours later, he heard Tohru crying out once again. Kyou immediately jumped out of bed and rushed into Tohru's room, ready to attack whatever it was hurting her.

"What's going on?" Kyou asked as he turned on the lights to see Tohru crying once again.

"I had that dream again, only the man ripped off his mask and it was Akito." Tohru said as she fought back the tears. "He said that he was going to take you away from me and that I would be left all alone."

"That is never going to happen, Tohru." Kyou said taking a seat on the bed next to her. "Nobody is ever going to leave you alone." Kyou reached to wipe away the tears from Tohru's face once again. Unfortunately, Tohru wouldn't stop crying. Kyou did the only thing he could think of to comfort her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. The few brief seconds before Kyou transformed were amazing. He loved how it felt to hold Tohru in his arms.

When Tohru realized what was happening Kyou had already transformed. She pulled the orange cat into her arms and held him close. "Thank you, Kyou." She said as she stroked his soft fur.

"No Tohru, thank you." Kyou said nuzzling Tohru's neck. It didn't take long for the two to fall asleep snuggled up together.

Shigure and Yuki woke up to find that Tohru had not yet made breakfast. "Hmm, that's strange she's always awake by this time and breakfast is always on the table. Even yesterday when she'd left early and had the day off." Shigure stated befuddled.

"Well perhaps she had a hard time sleeping after that nightmare. I still don't understand why the loss of that stupid cat would upset her, though." Yuki said a little miffed by Shigure's attitude. "Or perhaps she has overworked herself again."

"Do you think she could have another fever?" Shigure asked.

"Maybe we should go check on her." Yuki said. "But I have to go to the store and pick up a few things."

"You go to the store and I'll check on Tohru." Shigure replied, his voice holding a hint of mischief.

"No, I'll go check on her. I don't trust you." Yuki retorted glaring at Shigure.

"Kyou is still here. He'll kill me if I try anything. Besides you know I wouldn't ever do anything to Tohru." Shigure stated.

"Fine, I'll go to the store." Yuki said going to grab his shoes and leaving.

As soon as Yuki was out the door Shigure went to look in Kyou's room really quick. Kyou wasn't there. So Shigure got an idea. He went downstairs to grab a camera. Then he went to check on Tohru. He found her curled up with an orange cat and Kyou's clothes on the floor. Shigure snapped a quick picture and went downstairs. He couldn't help but think how cute the girl and the cat looked cuddled up together.

Tohru woke up later than her usual time. Kyou woke up just a few minutes later still wrapped in Tohru's arms. "Good morning Kyou." Tohru greeted the cat brightly.

"Good morning, Tohru." Kyou greeted.

Tohru sat up, sat Kyou on the bed next to her, and stretched her arms and back. While she was stretching, Tohru heard a poof and then looked over at a now human and naked Kyou. Her face turned red as she turned away so that she wasn't looking at him. She tried to get up so that she could let him get dressed, but Kyou decided to try and get up at the same time and they were both still tangled up in the covers. They tumbled to the ground and before they knew it, Kyou was a cute and cuddly orange cat again.

They both laughed. Tohru looked up at the time and realized that she was late getting up and starting breakfast. "Oh no! I have to get dressed and then make breakfast!"

"Tohru, you don't have to do anything." The annoyed little cat spoke.

"Yes, I do. Part of the agreement of me staying here was that I would be the housekeeper." Tohru said sweetly.

"Okay, fine." Kyou said right before he transformed back into a human.

Tohru quickly turned around her face turning a bright red. "You can look now." Kyou spoke and Tohru could hear the false annoyance trying to cover the smile in his voice.

Tohru slowly turned around and smiled, her face flushing slightly. Kyou's face matched her's. They both just stood there smiling and blushing just looking at the other. Then Tohru once again realized that she needed to be dressed and making breakfast. "Um, Kyou?"

"Yes, Tohru?"

"I…um…need to get dressed." Tohru replied shyly, her face growing pinker by the second.

"Oh yea, um… I'll see you downstairs." Kyou answered heading to the door, his face also turning the color of a sunburn.

Tohru went through her closet and found her very simple blue jean skirt and a pink sleevless top. She then went into the bathroom and brushed out her hair. She decided to put on the necklace Kyou gave her, her bracelet, and she pulled her hair back into braids with the pink ribbons from Yuki. She smiled at her reflection as she took in all the wonderful presents that were given to her. Tohru took a closer look at the charm bracelet and noticed how th cat had been included. Her smile grew even wider. Perhaps Kyou was accpted by more of his family than he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Kyou walked downstairs and into the diningroom. He noticed Shigure smiling iver his newspaper at him. "What are you smiling about?" Kyou shouted his face red in anger now rather than embarrassment (or perhaps it was both).

"Oh, nothing. You just seem to be in an awefully good mood this morning. Any particular reason?" Shigure asked, michief in his tone.

"No!" Kyou shouted too quickly.

"Could it have anything to do with…?" Before Shigure could finish his sentence a cheerful Tohru walked in the room. "Ah, good morning Tohru." Shigure greeted.

"Good morning." Tohru greeted with a big smile, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Good morning." Kyou greeted, unable to help himself. He loved that big smile of her's.

"I just started breakfast. It will be ready in just a few minutes." Tohru told the boys. She then looked around the table and noticed that one member of their little family was missing. "Where is Yuki?"

"He went to the store to pick up a few things. He should be back soon." Shigure answered.

"Oh." Tohru said as she turned to go back to the kitchen.

Soon after that, Yuki returned to the house and came to his usual seat at the table. "I see you're finally awake, Cat." Yuki said glaring at Kyou.

"What's it to ya, you stupid Rat?" Kyou shouted.

Hearing the familiar sounds of fighting, Tohru knew that the missing Sohma had returned. She smiled as she heard the two boys argue. She knew she wanted them to get along, but at the same time she wasn't sure how it would turn out of they were to become friends. The picture in her mind did scare her slightly. Soon breakfast was done and ready to be served.

Later in the day Tohru had to get ready for work. She really didn't want to go, but she had to work hard. She had told Yuki and Kyou that she would be fine walking to work by herself. She said that one or even both of them could walk her home when she left, but she figured that she would be fine during the daylight hours. Her walk to work was very peaceful.

Once at the office she went to the changing room and put on her uniform, pulled her hair back into two poney tails, and put on her bandanna. She immediately got to work cleaning everything in sight. She sacked up all the garbage and took it out to the dumpster. On her way back into the building Tohru bumped into a young man dressed in a finely tailored suit.

"Oh, I am so sorry." She said as she bowed politely.

"Oh, no I am sorry, Miss." Replied the man.

Tohru looked at the man. He wasn't much older than herself and he was handsome. He had dark black hair and bright green eyes. His smile was kind and made his eyes glow with warmth. He seemed very kind and warm.

He reached out his and to shake Tohru's. "My name is Tristan Nakaya."

Tohru shook his hand and replied, "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Tohru Honda." Tohru looked at her watch and realized that she only had an hour left and she still had so much work to do. "I'm sorry to bump into you and run, but I have a lot of work to do, so I should get going."

"Oh no problem and it was very nice to meet you." Tristan replied with a warm smile.

Tohru rushed back to work, all the time not know that she was being watched by Tristan. He admired the way she worked. She was very quick and very thorough. He was amazed at how wonderful she worked and even more so amazed by her beauty. Tristan Nakaya had been hit by love at first sight. Tohru Honda's beauty and warmth had strick him.

Tohru had finished all her work, as well as the work of some of her coworkers in the last hour if her shift. She quickly changed back into her clothes and headed out of the changing room. She rounded the corner and once again found herself bumping into Tristan. This time the two tumbled to the ground, landing flat on their bottoms facing each other.

" We seem to keepbumping into each other." Tristan said reaching out a hand to help Tohru up and smiling that warm smile.

Tohru took his hand and let him pull her up. "Thank you and I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I don't mind bumping into a beautiful young lady." Tristan replied smiling warmly.

Tohru blushed. "Thank you. You are too kind."

"There is a handsome young man standing out there." Came the voice of one of the ladies that Tohru works with. She instantly knew that it had to be Kyou or Yuki. She went to look out the window and was shocked to see Shigure.

"Do you know him?" Tristan asked.

"Yes, he is my boss and my friend." Tohru answered.

"I didn't think he was the owner of this building."

"This isn't my only job. I'm the housekeeper for him and his cousins. I work only for my room at their house. It would be asking too much if I let them pay me." Tohru answered honestly. "He's here to walk me home, which is unusual for him. Normally Yuki or Kyou, his cousins and my classmates walk me home."

"That's really nice of them." Tristan replied.

"Well, I need to be going. I don't want to keep him waiting." Tohru said, "It was nice talking to you again."

Tristan watched as Tohru walked through the elevator doors and then out into the night with the man she called her boss and friend.

"Hi, Shigure." Tohru called as she went out the door. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well hello Tohru. I decided that I should step out of the house and get some fresh air. I need to get my creative juices flowing." He replied.

"Oh." Tohru muttered.

The two began the walk home. "So how was work?"

"It was very fun." Tohru answered with a smile. "I didn't get to see Mimili, but I got everything done."

The rest of the evening was very uneventful, but the rest of the week proved to be interesting. All that week at work, Tohru kept bumping into Tristan and he would talk to her while she worked. He had even offered to help her a few times, but she couldn't allow him to help her. He would ask her questions about herself and answer questions about himself, though Tohru never asked much. Her mom had always told her it was rude to pry into other people's lives.


	5. Chapter 5

After a few weeks had gone by, Tohru walked home with Kyou and he was holding her hand the whole way. When they reached the house it was very quiet. They walked to the dining room and found Yuki and Shigure setting at the table staring at a white box with a red ribbon tying it shut.

"What's this?" Tohru asked taking a seat at the table and looking at the box.

"We don't know Tohru. We opened the door and this box was out there." Shigure answered.

"The card says that it's for you, Miss Honda." Yuki replied.

"Oh." Tohru said, picking up the card that Yuki had mentioned. She took it out of the envelope and read it to herself. _I saw these in the shop and their beauty reminded me of your own._ There was no signature or anything to indicate the identity of the sender. Tohru took the box and opened it up to find a half dozen red roses. "They are beautiful. I wonder who sent them." Tohru exclaimed.

"The card didn't say?" Kyou asked a little irritated.

"Nope." Tohru answered, thinking about the card and what it said. Her face flushed slightly.

"I know who sent them." Shigure said smiling slyly.

"Who?" The three teenagers inquired.

"Isn't it obvious? Our sweet Tohru has a secret admirer."

Tohru flushed. "No, it couldn't be. There's nothing special about me."

"Well what did the card say?" Shigure asked as if to prove his point.

Tohru read the card allowed for them and her face grew even redder as she read the sweet note. "That was definitely written by a secret admirer." Shigure said slyly. This made Tohru's blush deepen.

"I'm going to go put these in some water." Tohru said, clearly uncomfortable and looking for an escape.

Kyou looked very angry, even more so than normal. All of a sudden he got up and slammed his fist on the table breaking it once again, and then walking out of the house and heading for the roof.

"Why is he always breaking things in my house?" Shigure sighed.

"Why is he so angry?" Yuki asked looking up at the ceiling.

"I believe he is jealous." Shigure said, stating the obvious once again.

"Jealous of what?"

"Not what, but who. He's jealous of whoever Tohru's secret admirer is."

The rest of the week, Tohru kept receiving flowers of all kinds from this secret admirer. The cards that came with these flowers were very similar to the first one. All the cards kept speaking of her beauty and how kind she is.

After about a month, Tohru received a note from her secret admirer saying that he wanted to meet her. He said that he would pick her up for a date after she got off of work the following night. Tohru didn't want to be rude so she decided that she would meet him. She also decided not to tell the boys. She knew that they would overreact.

The next morning when she woke up she decided to call U-o and Hana and see if she could sleep over. They both agreed, especially when she told them about meeting her secret admirer. Of course they both wanted details.

The boys came down for breakfast and took their usual seats at the table. "I hope you don't mind, but Hana wants me and U-o over for a sleep over tonight and I said yes?"

"That's perfectly fine, Tohru." Shigure answered her with a smile.

"Yes, Miss Honda. You should spend time with your friends." Yuki replied.

"Whatever you want." Kyou muttered.

After breakfast Tohru quickly packed her things and then got to work cleaning and making lunch as well as dinner for the boys. She smiled as she thought about their little family. She also thought of her feelings for one Sohma in particular. When she thought of him and how she felt she knew exactly why she was going to meet her secret admirer and why she wasn't telling the boys. She couldn't hurt his feelings.

Tohru headed to work that afternoon trying to figure out what she was going to tell her mystery man. She wanted to tell him nicely. He seemed so sweet and it was very thoughtful of him to send her all of those flowers and say all of those nice things about her in those cards.

While at work all Tohru could think about was what she was going to tell her secret admirer. She of course was also excited to find out who it was. When her work was finished Tohru got dressed for her date. She wanted to look nice, but not too nice. She was going to be letting this guy down.

Tohru walked out of the building and headed to the bench, where the note4 said he would be waiting for her. There was no one there, at least that she could see.

"Hello Tohru." Came a voice that she had come to know. Then he stepped out from behind a tree that was next to the bench and confirmed what Tohru had heard.

"Hello Tristan." Tohru said, surprsied.

Tristan pulled a bouquet of red roses from behind his back and handed them to Tohru as well as a box of chocolates. "These are for you." He said blushing.

Tohru also blushed as she said a quiet, "Thank you." She wasn't sure of what to say next.

"I'm glad you came. When we first bumped into each other that night, I thought that you were the most beautiful girl I had ever met." Tristan spoke.

"That's really sweet and all the nice things you said in those cards that came with the flowers, were really sweet." Tohru replied.

"I only wrote what was true. You are so beautiful and kind." Tristan's face was bright red.

Tohru's face was just as red as Tristan's, but she knew she had to give back the roses and the chocolates and tell him the truth. "It's really sweet of you to say all of those things about me and to bring me all of these flowers and the chocolates. I have enjoyed talking with you while I work. You are very nice." Tohru said trying to be kind.

"But?" Tristan inquired.

"But I can't accept all of these gifts. There is someone else that I like very much and I know that all of these gifts have been hurting him." Tohru answered honestly as she held the flowers and the chocolate out to him.

Tristan smiled. "I suspected as much. A beautiful lady such as yourself must have the young boys falling all over you. I would ask though that you keep the flowers and the chocoaltes. They are my gifts to you. I would also like to ask that you allow me to take you to dinner?"

Tohru looked shocked. _Why would he want to take me to dinner after I turned him down? He doesn't hope that he can change my mind, does he?_ "Why would you still want to take me to dinner?"

"Because, I want to. I enjoy your company and I would like for us to be friends. I want you in my life even if we aren't together." Tristan answered honestly, his face glowing.

Tohru blushed. "Okay, I'm glad we are friends."

Tristan held out his arm to Tohru, "Shall we?"

Tohru smiled and loop[ed her arm through his, "Lead the way."

Tristan led Tohru to a limo waiting just outside the park. The driver was waiting by the door and held it open for Tohru and Tristan. Tristan stepped back to allow Tohru to get in first. Tohru stepped inside and slid over to make room for Tristan. She looked around the spaceous limo and thought of how nice it looked. She felt like a modern princess or a fameous actress. The limo took them to the most lavish restaurant in town. The two friends went inside and enjoyed a lovely dinner. Then they went back to the park and took a walk together.


	6. Chapter 6

"I should probably be taking you home." Tristan said as he walked tohru back to the limo and held open the door for her.

"Actually, I'm going staying at my friend's house tonight." Tohru replied as she took her seat in the limo again.

"Ok just tell me the address."

Tohru gave Tristan the address and the limo soon arrived at Hana's house. Tristan being a gentleman walked Tohru to the door. U-o and Hana were standing by the window looking out as Tohru and Tristan said goodnight. Tohru gave Tristan a hug and then walked inside after waving goodbye. As soon as she walked in the door U-o and Hana pounced on her with questions.

"So was that your secret admirer? He's pretty cute. Who is he?" U-o inquired.

"He seems to have fine electric signals. Do you like him too?" Hana asked.

"His name is Tristan Nakaya. I met him about a month ago at work. We bumped into each other and he started visiting me and talking to me while I worked. He sent me all those flowers and he brought these and the chocolates tonight. He's very sweet, but we are just friends." Tohru answered quickly.

"So why don't you like him as more than a friend?" U-o asked as she and Hana led Tohru up the stairs to Hana's room.

"Is there someone else?" Hana asked reading Tohru's electric signals.

Tohru blushed as the door to Hana's room opened. The girls walked inside and got into their pajamas and sat in a circle on the floor. Tohru couldn't bring herself to tell her friends who she liked.

"There is someone else isn't there?" U-o asked knowingly.

Tohru nodded. "Sort of. I like him, but I'm not sure if he likes me."

"Well who is it?" U-o prodded gently.

Tohru blushed thinking of him. She was afraid to tell U-o and Hana. They were her best friends, but Tohru was still very shy. She knew she could trust them, but she was still nervous about it. She had never liked a boy before. Sure she'd had little crushes, but she'd never liked a boy the way she liked Him.

"She doesn't want to tell us." Hana stated once again reading Tohru's electric signals.

"Why not Tohru? You've told us when you liked guys before." U-o pointed out in her kind of harsh way.

"This guy is different." Tohru stated. "The other guys were just crushes. I feel different about this guy. I've never felt this way before."

"Oh, I see." U-o said, understanding coloring her tone.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters. The only character I own is Tristan. The story and its characters belong to Natsuki Takaya.**

Tohru, U-o, and Hana all found a comfy spot to sleep. U-o and Hana fell asleep easilly. Tohru had a slightly harder time. She looked down at the locket around her neck. Her thoughts instantly went to the young man who had given it to her. She also thought of how upset he had seemed whenever flowers came from Tristan. _Does that mean that he likes me?_ She thought lying there looking up at the ceiling.

Tohru now more than ever wished she had her mother to guide her. She her advice. Tohru also wondered how her mother and father met. _Did they go through something similar?_ Tohru had so many questions. She had so much that she wished to ask her mom, but she couldn't really get any answers from her; could she? Before Tohru even realized what she was doing she put on her shoes and jacket and was out the door and half way to the cemetery.

_I have to talk to, Mom. She will know exactly what to do._ Tohru reached her mother's grave and sat there staring the headstone. "What should I do, Mom? I really like him and I don't know how to tell him. I'm not even sure that he likes me, but he gets angry when I receive flowers from Tristan. Does that mean he likes me too? Please, Mom? I need you." Tears welled in Tohru's eyes as she spoke. She laid her head on the tobstone and began crying and as if the night sky felt her pain, it opened up and let out a flood of streaming tears.

Hana awoke knowing that something was amiss. She looked round her room and saw that Tohru was missing. She couldn't read Tohru's signals anywhere in the house. "U-o! Wake up!" Hana said shaking U-o, " Tohru is missing!"

"What?" U-o asked snapping out of her daze. She looked at the spot where Tohru had been sleeping and saw that everything was still there, except Tohru. U-o instantly was up and ready to find her friend. "Let's go find Tohru!"

U-o and Hana went in search of Tohru. Hana honing in on Tohru's electric signals.

Kyou couldn't sleep. He was restless. It was something for him to not want to sleep on a rainy day. He just kept thinking about those flowers and the blush that they brought on Tohru's sweet face. He hated the idea that someone else was making her blush. He hated that fact that anyone else would dare to look upon that sweet face as he did. Then he thought about how beautiful and kind Tohru was and realized that he was a fool to think there wouldn't be any others. He decided then and there what he would do. When Tohru came back the next day, he would tell her how he felt. _But what ifshe rejects me? What if I'm only good enough as a friend? What if she can't see me? What if she can only see the monster?_

Kyou shook his head in frustration and let out a groan. He punched his pillow and was just so angry. He needed to take a walk. He didn't care that it was raining. He had to clear his thoughts. Maybe the rain would make him sleepy and he would be able to not think about her. Kyou grabbed his coat and shoes and went outside in the rain. He started walking with no idea where he was headed. He just wanted to walk.

Tohru lay in front of her mother's grave crying. She missed her more than anything. She needed her mom to hug her and hold her and tell her that everything would be alright. She needed to know what to do.

Kyou was walking by the cemetery when he heard the sound of crying. He figured it was just a random mourner, but for some reason he was compelled to walk in and take a look. He was shocked when he found her. There she was crying on Kyoko's grave.

"Tohru?" Kyou said moving closer and kneeling by her side.

Tohru looked up into those ruby eyes. She saw a softness there that was only ever shown to her. She sat there speechless staring into those eyes. They filled her with a burning desire to kiss him.

Kyou reached out a hand and out it on Tohru's back and began to rub soothing circles. "Are you alright, Tohru?" He asked concern coloring his every word.

She still couldn't speak. She just nodded and managed a, "Mmm-hmmm."

"You're soaked. You must be freezing." Kyou responded, taking off his jacket and putting it round Tohru's shoulders, "Here, that ought to warm you up." He noticed that Tohru's cheeks were slightly flushed. He placed his hand on her forehead and she felt feverish. "We need to get you home and call Hatori."

Just then Hana and U-o came into sight. "Hey what's Orange Top doin' here?" U-o inquired as they came into view.

Kyou briefly glared at her and then looked back with concern and kindness in his eyes for Tohru. "I went for a walk and I found Tohru here. I'm going to take her home and call Hatori." Kyou answered.

"Who is Hatori?" U-o asked.

"Our family doctor. Tohru feels like she has a fever." Kyou stood up not looking at either U-o or Hana. He held out his hand for Tohru, "Let's get you home."

Tohru stared blankly at Kyou's hand for a moment and then put her own in it. He helped her up and the pair started walking home. Hana and U-o started to follow. "You two should go back. Tohru is going to need a lot of rest." Kyou said without even a glance at the two girls.

"But..." U-o started to object when Hana cut in, "Yes she is. We will come by in the morning with her things." U-ob stared at Hana questioningly. Hana answered with a look that said that she would explain later.

When Kyou and Tohru reached teh Sohma house, Kyou was soaking wet and chilled to the bone. That mattered nothing to him though. He was only worried about Tohru. He looked at her concern evident on his face. She did not look very well. She was incredibly pale and wet. Her cheeks were pink and even though she shook with cold her skin was fire.

"My my. Our sweet flower has returned." Shigure greeted.

"If only the stupid cat hadn't come back with her, life would be wonderful." Yuki said as he entered the room.

Kyou ignored Yuki and looked at Shigure. "Call Hatori."

"Why?" He asked oblivious as usual.

As if on cue Tohru let out a dainty "Ah-choo." Followed by a nasty cough.

"I will call." Shigure said and without another word went to call Hatori. A few moments later he renetered the room and told the group, "Hatori will be here in about an hour. He said that Tohru needs a nice hot bath *pervy grin followed by a smack on the head from Yuki and Kyou* and clean dry clothes. She will also need to be kept warm."

Yuki and Kyou nodded. the boys helped Tohru to her room to grab her clothes and then to the bathroom. Luckilly she was able to care for herself in this manner. While Tohru bathed, Kyou went to her room and began making sure it was nice and toasty warm for her.

Yuki walked in and stood in the doorway. Whenever Tohru was sick the two worked out a temporary truce. "Where was she when you found her?" He asked not looking at the cat.

"She was by her mom's grave...crying." Kyou answered not looking away from the heater as he turned it up.

Before Yuki could speak any further, Tohru was out of the shower and entering her room. She started to wobble a bit and Yuki and Kyou were both at each side of her steadying her. They helped her to her bed and Kyou even tucked her in. He wanted so badly to place a soft kiss on her forehead, but he didn't want the darn rat to see.

The door downstairs slid open and Hotori soon came up followed by Kisa and Momiji. "Is sissy okay?" Kisa asked peeking around from behind Hatori to look at Tohru. Kisa looked worried.

"I'm sure that it's just a cold." Yuki replied his kind heart opening to the concerned face of the young girl.

Hatori went over to Tohru's bedside and opening up his bag. He began pulling out the supplies he needed. "You should all step out while I examine Tohru." Hatori said not looking away from his bag.

Kyou glared at Hatori but complied silently.

'We'll be back Tohru." Momiji called cheerfully and waved.

"Okay." Tohru mumbled.

Downstairs Kyou headed straight for a secluded corner away from everyone else. He wanted to be alone to think. Tohru was so important to him and he wanted to know what she was doing in the graveyard and why she was crying. He needed to know why she was upset. He wanted to make it all better. He sat in the corner for what seemed like an eternity before Hatori came down.

"Tohru has strep throat." Hatori said simply. "She needs lots of rest and plenty of fluids. There are a couple of bottles of antibiotics on her nightstand. The white bottle conatins pills that she needs to take twice a day once with breakfast and once with dinner. The yellow bottle contains a liquid that she needs to take once a day. Make sure she finishes all of the medicines."

"Can we go see Tohru?" Momiji asked in his whiney voice.

"No, that wouldn't be good. We can't have you two getting sick as well." Hatori answered.

Shigure suddenly got an idea. "Well Kyou will just have to take care of Tohru because Yuki and I have a little trip planned."

"We do?" Yuki inquired knowing that Shigure just made the whole thing up.

"Yes, I wanted to surprise you. You've been looking so stressed lately and I thought you could use a break. Plus it would be nice to not have to listen to you and Kyou fight."

Yuki was quiet. He wanted to get away from the cat, but he didn't want to leave Tohru alone with him. He also knew that Shigure had a plan and wouldn't take no for an answer. "Ok." Yuki replied with a sigh.

The other sohma's left and Yuki and Shigure began packing. Yuki was thinking of what Shigure could possibly have planned. _Why would he leave that stupid cat alone with Tohru? He can't take care of anyone!_ Yuki mentally complained. He then picked up a book and threw it at his door.

It was at that moment that Shigure chose to enter the room and just barely missed being hit by the projectile book. "I know you are probably wondering why I came up with this idea all of a sudden."

'Yes." Yuki replied waiting for an explanation.

"Well I have my reasons, but I won't tell you." Shigure replied in a sing song voice. "We'll be leaving in just a few minutes."

Soon all bags were packed and Yuki and Shigure were on their way. Once the door was closed Kyou let out a sigh of relief. He had a few days away from that darn rat. He was also a little scared. He wasn't quite sure how exactly to take care of Tohru and if he should tell her or not. He sighed once again as he went upstairs to check on Tohru. She was sound asleep and looked like an angel to Kyou.

As Kyou walked away he heard a sleepy voice sigh, "Kyou." He turned around and Tohru was still asleep, but she kept whispering his name. Kyou smiled and walked to his room.

**A/N Sorry it took me so long. I was having a spell of writer's block. I hope you enjoyed it. PLease review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. I hope you continue to read and review. I also hope you continue to enjoy my story, but of course if you have any constructive critism, I'd be happy to hear it. Just remember I have not read the manga and am going by the anime.**

The night passed by uneventfully. Tohru had slept soundly and when kyou woke up, she was still fast asleep. He decided to head downstairs to the kitchen and make breakfast. For himself he made some simple egg rolls and ate them quickly. He knew he needed to make some soup for Tohru. He also knew which soup was best for helping her get over her sickness...Leek soup!

_You've done this once before and you can do it again._ Kyou coached himself. _It's for Tohru._ And that last thought was all he needed. Kyou would do anything for Tohru. She was everything to him. With a sigh Kyou pushed himself up from the table and headed for the kitchen. He soon found himself making leek soup once again for Tohru.

While the soup was heating up Kyou pulled down the tray and started getting it ready. He took down a glass and filled it with orange juice. He took down a bowl for the coup and decided that the tray needed one last touch. He checked to make sure that the soup was still heating and then went and put his shoes on and headed outside. He found exactly what he was looking for, a purple tulip and he plucked it and took it back inside. He took out a small vase, added some water, put the tulip in, and put it on the tray. Soon the soup was done and he poured it in the bowl.

Kyou walked up the stair careful not to drop the tray. He lightly knocked on Tohru's door and heard a weak raspy voice say, "Come in." He gently opened the door and carried the tray inside. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he sat the detestable food in front of Tohru.

"Okay." She replied her voice still weak and rasping.

"I made you some leek soup for breakfast." Kyou said.

"I would say it smells delicious, but i can'r smell right now." Tohru said with a weak smile as she reached for a kleenex.

Kyou reached over and grabbed the whole box for her and sat it right next to her. He laughed a little at her joke. "I'm going to let you eat your breakfast, now." Kyou said as he headed for the door, "If you need anything don't hesitate to call for me. I'll be right here for you."

Tohru nodded and Kyou closed the door. Tohru ate the leek soup and smiled as she thought of what Kyou's face must have looked like while making this soup. She knew how much he despised leeks. She could just see him with a close pin holding his nose shut and stirring with his arm fully extended and face turned away from the leeks. She then looked at the rest of the tray and noticed the purple tulip. It was her favorite flower (**A/N: I don't know if it really is or not, but I thought that it would be good).** It was thoughtful of him to put the flower on her tray. She smiled.

_Mom, does this mean he likes me?_ Tohru thought. _I mean, he made me breakfast and a breakfast which he hates, and he picked this flower. He's taking care of me while I'm sick. Does this mean he likes me? Oh Mom, I'm so confused. I wish you were here to help me._ Tohru let a silent tear fall down her cheek. She missed her mom so much esoecially now. She needed her guidance. She needed to know what her mom would do or say in this situation.

Kyou walked back in and saw the silent tear rolling down Tohru's delicate porcelin cheek. he walked over to her and sat on her bedside. He reached out a hand and carressed her cheek wiping away the single tear. "What's the matter?" he asked concern flooding his expression.

Tohru looked up in surprise. She had not expected Kyou back so soon. She had hoped to be in complete compsure when he came back. She couldn't answer him.

"You were crying last night when I found you. What's wrong?"

Tohru couldn't bring herself to tell him how she felt about him, but she could tell him mostly why she was crying. When she finally found her weak and rasy voice she simply replied, "I miss my mom." and soon more tears silently streamed down her face.

Kyou wiped each tear away. He wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms and hold her and comfort her. Here she was, the girl who meant more to him than anyone or anything else in the entire world, crying her eyes out and he couldn't pull her close and hold her while she cried. He did the next best thing he could do. He turned to the side so that his shoulder was facing her. "Here." He said as he pulled he head down to rest on his shoulder. Even if he couldn't hold her, he would at least give her his shoulder to cry on. He patted her head with his hand and didn't say anything. He just let her cry.

After about a half hour or so, Tohru's tears ran out, but she left her head resting on Kyou's shoulder. Kyou reached his hands up and gently cupped her face in them. He slowly turned around to face her and gently lifeted her gaze to meet his. "I know you miss your mom, but at least you know she loved you more than anything else in the world. You were her world. Everything she did, she did for you," Kyou paused to take a breath, "Tohru, I know it's hard, but love like that doesn't go away. Even death can't stop that kind of love. Love like that instead of going away when that person dies, it stays with the people that person loves and surrounds them. Even though your mom is no longer here, her love still surrounds you."

Tohru smiled and Kyou returned her smile. Tohru looked at Kyou's shoulder where she had been crying and her smile disappeared. "What?" Kyou asked suddenly worried.

"I ruined your shirt." She said pointing at his tear soaked shoulder.

Kyou just laughed. "It's just a shirt. It will wash out."

"Okay, I'll wash it for you. Now go change and I'll wash it." Tohru said and then coughed.

"Oh no you don't." Kyou said putting his hands on Tohru's shoulders and gently pushing her back down on the bed. "I can wash it. You just need to rest and get better."

Tohru nodded and smiled. Kyou was taking care of her and she liked it. It had been so long since someone else had taken care of her. Of course it made it even better that Kyou was the one taking care of her.

Kyou patted Tohru's hand and took the tray and walked downstairs. He washed the dishes and put them away. He then took off his shirt and threw it in the washer. He went back to the kitchen and filled a glass with orange juice and went upstairs. He stopped in his room and put on a clean shirt and then headed to Tohru's room. She was still awake, but no tears this time. "I thought you might like some more orange juice." he said thinking the ice cold drink might feel good on Tohru's throat.

Tohru nodded and took the glass and began drinking it. By the time she had put it down, it was half empty (or half full as tohru would look at it). She smiled, "That was just what I needed."

Kyou smiled in return, "How about I bring you up a movie?" He asked pointing his head in the direction of the TV and DVD player Shigure had bought. He'd put one in everyone's room.

"Okay, but only of you'll stay and watch it with me?" Tohru asked with a smile.

Kyou smiled, "Your wish is my command. What movie would you like to watch?"

"You pick."

"Okay, but no scary movies for you this time." Kyou said with a smile.

Tohru returned the smile. "Okay."

Kyou quickly ran downstairs and searched through the movies. He decided to go with a comedy. _Tohru could use a good laugh_. Kyou thought to himself. He just wanted to keep her smiling and happy. He hated seeing her cry. It made him want to cry, although he would deny it if anyone asked him. Before he returned upstairs he stopped in the kitchen and filled a couple more glasses with orange juice.

When he returned, sure enough Tohru was sitting up and finishing off her orange juice. "Good thing I brought more." He said with a smile as he sat the two new glasses on the nightstand.

Tohru grinned and took one of the glasses and drank a little more from it. "What movie did you pick out?"

"This new comedy movie. It just came out last month." He said holding up the DVD case to show her.

"I've been wanting to see that one." Tohru said.

Kyou popped the movie in, picked up the remote, and took a seat next to Tohru on the bed. He skipped past the previews and hit play when the menu came up. About half way through the movie Tohru leaned her head over and rested it on Kyou's shoulder. After a few more minutes, Kyou looked over at her and her eyes were shut in a peaceful sleep. Kyou decided to finish the movie. When the movie was almost over he heard Tohru's sweet voice say, "Kyou." He looked over and she was still asleep. She kept repeating his name.

Kyou grinned from ear to ear. He liked the sound of his name on her lips. When the movie ended Kyou put one of his hands behind Tohru's head and gently laid her on the pillow and pulled the blankets up over her. Before leaving the room Kyou placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He headed out the door and left it open just a crack, he looked back through and saw her sleeping peacefully and heard her calling his name in her sleep. His smile reached his eyes and made them dance with joy.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I enjoyed writing it. Please review, thank you.**


	9. Chapter 9

A week had passed since Tohru became ill. She was close to finishing her medicine and was feeling much better. She's started coming downstairs, even though Kyou protested. Kyou was taking such good care of her. He wouldn't let her lift a finger. He waited on her hand and foot. She liked it and was conatantly thanking him. She never wanted to appear ungreatful. That was one of the things Kyou loved about her.

Yuki and Shigure still hadn't returned and Kyou was completely okay with that. It was nice not to see that darn rat and annoying dog. He also enjoyed the alone time with Tohru. He liked taking care of her too. He liked that she needed him. Hana and U-o had brought Tohru's clothes back earlier and wanted to see Tohru. She was asleep and he didn't want to wake her up for any reason. They understood and reluctantly left, but they kept calling everyday and checking on her.

Tohru sat on the couch next to Kyou watching a monie and eating breakfast. They were having a small conversation. They were laughing and smiling and enjoying each other's company. _I want to tell you how I feel so bad Tohru, but I can't risk it. How could you love a monster like me?_ And yet there she was laughing and smiling right next to him, acting as if she had never seen his true form. She was so amazinf and yet he knew, not even sweet Tohru could love a monster.

_I want to tell you how I feel so bad Kyou, but how could you ever love me? I can't risk losing you. Even if we are only ever friends, at least you'll be in my life._ Tohru thought to her self as they sat laughing and talking. Yet, here he was taking care of her and making her feel better. Could he love her? Could he feel the same way about her as she did him? Tohru couldn't know.

_Meanwhile Hana and U-o are having some girl talk..._

"So who do you think Tohru likes, Orange Top or the Prince?" U-o asked Hana as the two sat and sipped tea.

"I'm not sure." Hana replied in her usual tone.

"Tohru is a loving and caring person, which means it could easily be either one." U-o said thinking about Tohru's sweet and loving disposition.

"What makes you say that?" Hana asked.

"Well she loves everyone she meets. The Prince is friendly and yet he seems to be holding something back. Orange Top is easily angered and hates almost everybody. He wantes to fight all the time. Tohru is the kind of person where she could easily love either one." U-o answered.

"You have a valid point." Hana said, "I just wish we had a better clue as to which one it is."

"Yup, but we won't know until she tells us or tells him."

_At the hot spring withe Yuki and Shigure..._

Shigure sank into the hot spring and sighed. "It has been so wonderful not having you and Kyou bickering."

"Yes, but should we have left him to take care of Miss Honda?" Yuki asked with concern.

"Wether you want to admit it or not Kyou cares very much for Tohru. He won't hurt her." Shigure said stating the obvious.

"But he has hurt her before." Yuki retorted remembering the times that he and Kyou were fighting and Kyou and hit Tohru.

"Not intentionally. He was aiming for you and fighting you so as long as you two aren't fighting or even around each other Tohru is fine."

"Why do you have to be right _all the time?"_ Yuki asked annoyed.

"Because I am the amazing Shigure." He replied in his sing song voice.

"That was a rhetorical question." Yuki sighed shaking his head.

"Oh, but you don't know how amazing I am." Shigure said with a sly smile.

"Why is that?" Yuki asked a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomache.

"Because only I know." Came the dramatic voice from behind Yuki. "Oh how I have missed you and your amazingness Shigure."

"And I have missed your beauty, Aya." Shigure replied in an equally dramatic voice.

"Oh and my little brother. How wonderful it is to see you!" Aya exclamied and pulled Yuki into a hug as he got in the hot spring.

"Get off me!" Yuki yelled pushing his brother off and jumping out of the hot spring and heading for his room.

"I suppose I'll never win him over." Aya said with a sigh as he looked at Shigure.

"Sure you will, you just have to keep trying." Shigure replied as he patted Aya's shoulder.

Another week came and went and Shigure and Yuki headed home. Yuki glad to leave his brother and anxious to see how Miss Honda was doing. He hoped she was doing better. He sighed in relief when he saw the house.

_A little while before the pair reached the house..._

Kyou and Tohru were in the kitchen washing dishes. Tohru had finished all of her medicine and was completely herself again. "We need to do some shopping today." She said. "We need to pick up some more food."

"Okay. When we get the dishes done we can make a list and head for town." Kyou said smiling at Tohru. He was so happy to see her well again. Her cheeks were rosey with health and he eyes were alight with wellness and happiness.

Soon the dishes were finished and the pair were sitting making up a grocery list. "We need more milk and orange juice." Tohru said as she scribbled on the paper.

"More salmon?" Kyou requested.

Tohru smiled. "Of course."

Soon the list was finished and the two were getting theor shoes on and heading for the door. They walked to town tpgether holding hands the whole way and yalking and laughing. When they reached the grocery store, they walked in still holding hands. they quickly gathered all the things on their list and a few extras. Tohru was in the mood to make some cookies and Kyou couldn't say no to her.

When they got home they put the groceries away, except the ingredients to make the cookies. "So should we make chocolate chip cookies or butterscitch chip cookies?" Tohru asked Kyou holding up the choices.

"Why not both?" Kyou inquired. "And even some with both?"

"Sounds great." Tohru amswered with a smile.

Kyou preheated the oven and got the bowls and cups down. Tohru was reaching for the flour and just about had it when it slipped from her hands. Kyou saw what was about to happen and quickly caught the flour. The package leaked slightly once it hit Kyou's hand. Kyou received a sprinkling of flour on his nose. He turned around and sneezed. Tohru laughed.

They began pouring and mixing the ingredients in the bowl. They were laughing and smiling as they baked the cookies. Soon they were putting the dough onto cookie sheets and were putting them in the oven. "Do you want to lick the spoon?' Tohru asked sweetly holding the wooden spoon to Kyou's lips.

Kyou smiled and opened his mouth. He licked the spoon clean of cookie dough. "I can't wait to eat the actual cookies." Kyou said with a smile.

Tohru laughed and began putting the dishes in the sink. Kyou walked over and helped her. Soon the dishes were done and so were the cookies. They each took a few cookies, got a glass of milk, and headed for the living room. They sat on the couch and turned the TV on. They sat and watched their favorite shows and ate cookies.

As they watched TV Tohru laid her head on Kyou's shoulder. Kyou glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. He liked how her head felt on his shoulder. He like the way her hair tickled his neck and how warm she was. He really loved being with her.

_Enter Yuki and Shigure!_

Yuki and Shigure exited the car and headed for the house. Yuki was glad to be home. He hated the hot spring well at leats when his brother was there. He was so glad to be home.

When Shigure and Yuki entered the house, they didn't see anyone immediately. They took off their shoes and headed into the living room where they heard the TV. They saw Tohru and Kyou kind of cuddled up on the couch together. Shigure smiled. His plan was working.


	10. Chapter 10

Two weeks had passed since Tohru was sick, and things were pretty much back to normal. Kyou and Yuki fought like always and Shigure made perverted comments about Tohru. Tohru as always ignored these comments.

Tohru was lucky enough to have a night off from work. She was excited to be home. Yuki had gone to the video store earlier that day and picked out a movie for their little family to watch. Kyou was in the kitchen washing dishes while Tohru was making popcorn. Shigure was in his study working on one of his books. It was a lazy summer night for the gang and they were enjoying it.

When the popcorn was done and the dishes finished, the family gathered in the living room. Shigure sat in his chair while Kyou and Yuki sat on opposite ends of the couch and Tohru right in between them.

"What movie did you get?" Tohru asked Yuki as the previews played.

"I got **Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief**." Yuki replied with a smile.

"I've been wanting to see that." Tohru said with excitement.

Kyou wouldn't admit it because Yuki picked out the movie, but he wanted to see it too. They sat and watched the movie in silence munching on the popcorn. While Kyou wanted to see the movie, he couldn't take his eyes off Tohru. _She's so beautiful. I wish I could tell her how I feel. I wish she felt the same way._ Kyou thought as he looked at her smiling face.

When the movie ended, Tohru decided to go up to her room. She didn't know why exactly, but she just felt like being alone. She needed to think. She was also going to have a little talk with her mom. All of the boys stayed downstairs. The phone rang and Shigure answered it. It was poor Mii.

"Shigure are you finished with your book yet?" came her crying voice.

Of course he was, but he was in the mood to torture the poor woman…again. "No." He answered in his usual sing song voice. "I have lost my muse. I just can't think."

"You're trying to kill me aren't you, Shigure?" She said the tears and stress apparent in her voice.

"Oh, of course not. I'm sure the inspiration will come to me. Well I must go. Good bye, Mii." He said hanging up the phone before she could say anything.

"Why do you torture that poor woman so?" Yuki asked.

"Because it amuses me." Shigure replied with a smile.

"You are a sick man." Yuki said shaking his head and walking away.

There was a knock on the door. Kyou went to answer it. When he opened the door and saw who was standing there, he couldn't speak. He was in shock.

"Hello. Is Tohru here? I heard she was staying here."

_In Tohru's room…_

Tohru sat on her bed looking at her mom's picture. "Mom, what should I do?" She asked the picture wishing so much that she was there. "I'm so confused. He means so much to me and I'm not sure how to tell him. I need your advice, Mom. I need you." Tohru sat there staring at the picture. She needed her. Tohru heard a car pull in and a knock on the door. She decided to pull herself together and see who it was. It might be Momiji or Kisa. They always made her smile.

Tohru was halfway down the steps when she saw Kyou was opening the door. "Hello. Is Tohru here? I heard she was staying here." Came a voice Tohru would know anywhere. It was a voice she hadn't heard for a while, but she knew it. _Can it really be?_ She thought as she looked towards the door. _Is it really happening? Is this a dream?_

"There you are, Tohru."

Tohru stepped off the last step and looked up. It really was happening.

**A/N: I know I'm leaving you with a cliffie, but I wanted to create some suspense. Any guesses as to who it is?**


	11. Chapter 11

"Mom?" Tohru inquired in utter amazement. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, Sweetheart. It's really me." Kyoko replied and opened her arms.

Tohru ran to her mother's open arms with tears of joy running down her cheeks. "I've missed you so much, Mom."

"I've missed you too Sweetheart." Kyoko replied tears of joy falling from her face.

"Who is it, Kyou?" Shigure asked as he and Yuki came from the living room. As soon as they saw Tohru and her mother embracing, their mouths fell open. After an immeasurable moment, Tohru and her mother let go of each other and dried their eyes.

"Why don't you come on in?" Shigure invited. "You and Tohru can sit in the living room and talk and we'll leave you in private."

"I would very much like to come in, but you don't have to leave. It won't bother me at all to explain things in front of you." Kyoko replied with a smile.

The group walked into the living room and Tohru and her mom sat next to each other on the couch. Kyou sat on the other side of Tohru, Shigure sat in his chair, and Yuki took a seat on the floor. The room was silent for a moment and then Kyoko spoke up, "So you boys are the ones who have been taking care of my sweet girl?"

"Yes." Shigure replied. "And where are my manners? I'm Shigure Sohma. These boys are my cousins, Yuki and Kyou Sohma."

"And even though you probably know who I am, I'll tell you anyway. I'm Kyoko, Tohru's mom." She replied.

"Please don't think me rude, but we thought you were dead." Shigure said pointing out the pink elephant in the room.

"Yes, well as you can see I'm not." She said with a laugh and then looked at Tohru. "I never meant to put you through this, Tohru."

"Why did you pretend to be dead, Mom?" Tohru asked, child-like innocence in her voice.

"Well, you remember how I was in a gang and then got out?"

Tohru nodded and then Kyoko continued, "Some bad people were after me. They wanted to hurt me. I was afraid, not for myself, but that they would come after you. I also couldn't worry you. I went to the police and we came up with the idea of my car accident. I wanted you to have a normal life and I couldn't ask you to leave your friends, but most of all I wanted to keep you safe. So I faked my death. I did it to protect you. I couldn't stand the idea of them hurting you."

"So why are you out of hiding?" Tohru asked.

"The police have captured these guys and it's now safe. I had to come and see you. I went to your grandfather's and you weren't there and he told me where you were. How did you end up here?"

Tohru's face turned red. "Well Grandpa had to make some renovations and I couldn't impose on anyone so I lived in a tent and got a job. The tent I was living in was on Shigure's property and one night Shigure and Yuki were walking and they found me and they let me stay here. I'm the housekeeper, but I only work for a place to stay."

Kyoko looked shocked. "You're still in school?"

Tohru nodded. "I'm doing exactly as you wanted me to. I'm finishing high school."

"Why aren't you staying with your grandfather?"

Once again Tohru's face turned red. "Well, I missed Kyou, Yuki, and Shigure. Also my cousin wasn't very happy to share a room with me."

Kyoko nodded. "So you're very happy?"

"Yes." Tohru said with a big smile.

"Would you like to stay with us?" Shigure asked.

"Of course." She answered.

"Wonderful." Shigure said in his sing song voice. "I'll fix up the guest bedroom."

"I'll fix it up, but tomorrow." Tohru piped up.

"Why not tonight?" Shigure inquired.

"Because Mom and I have a lot of catching up to do and I think she should stay in my room with me tonight. Like a sleepover." She replied.

Later that night tohru and her mom went up to her room. The two got in their pjs and sat on the floor. Tohru was so happy to have her mom back. It was so wonderful to know she was alive. She was incredibly happy that what she was wishing for earlier could now happen. She just wasn't sure how to ask her mom about it.

"Mom?" Tohru asked.

"Yes?"

"Um… I need your advice."

"Whatever it is I am here for you." Kyoko replied pulling Tohru into a hug.

"Well, there's this guy I really really like, but I'm afraid to tell him how I feel. I'm afraid he won't feel the same way."

Kyoko smiled knowingly. "Does this guy happen to have orange hair and red eyes?"

Tohru's face flushed crimson.

Her mother smiled once again. "That's what I thought. You should tell him."

"But what if he doesn't like me?" She asked.

"He would be nuts not to like you." Kyoko replied.

"You're my mom. You're supposed to say that stuff." Tohru replied sounding like a normal teenager.

"I have a feeling he does like you."

"How?"

"The way he kept looking at you. He was concerned for you when I came in. He also just couldn't take his eyes off of you."

Tohru blushed once again thinking of Kyou looking at her. She was afraid to tell him.

"Do U-o and Hana know?" Kyoko asked.

Tohru shook her head. "They know that I like someone, but they don't know who. I think they suspect who though."

Kyoko smiled. She had a feeling that Hana and U-o were close to figuring it all out, especially Hana. Her electric waves were very powerful. She also knew that U-o knew Tohru quite well.

The rest of the evening was spent catching up. Tohru told her mother about everything, well almost everything. She couldn't tell her about the curse, obviously. Her mother listened with much enthusiasm. After Tohru was finished, Kyoko told Tohru about her travels. They both spoke of how glad they were to see each other again. Tohru fell asleep that night in her mother's arms.

**A/N: So what did you think? I did promise you that there would be some reserecting of the dead lol. It may take me a while to update. I have a couple of ideas for the direction of the story from here. It will depend on my mood and on the reviews I get from you guys. So please review so I can figure out where to go from here. Thank you.**


	12. Chapter 12

Tohru woke up in the middle of the night and found that she was no longer in her mom's arms. She looked around her room, her sleepy eyes searching in vain for her mother. She got up and went to the bathroom. Her mother wasn't in the hall or the bathroom. She went to the guest room to search, but once again she couldn't find her. She searched the entire house and Kyoko was nowhere to be found.

"Tohru?" Kyou asked coming down the steps.

Tohru jumped startled. "Kyou, did I wake you up?"

"Don't worry about it. What are you doing up?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"I was just looking for my mom." Tohru answered.

Kyou thought for a moment and then said, "You lost your picture?"

"No, Mom was here. Don't you remember? She came and you answered the door and it was her. She's staying with us, but I can't find her." Tohru gave Kyou a questioning look.

Kyou looked at Tohru his face pure confusion. Then it hit him and her both at the same time. "It must have been a dream."

Kyou was suddenly worried about Tohru. She had lost her mom once and she just had a dream where she was back and now she had just lost her all over again. To his surprise Tohru's face held a smile and a look of peace. "Tohru?"

"Yes, Kyou?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine." She answered.

"Umm, why aren't you upset?"

Tohru looked at him with a smile. "I got to hug my mom again." She answered.

_She is simply amazing._ Kyou thought. _She just lost her mom for a second time and yet here she was happy as always._

"Besides even though my mom isn't here with me, I still have so much to be thankful for." She added. "I live here with wonderful people. I have a job and I'm getting an education. I have great friends and that includes you and Yuki and Shigure. And I still have my grandfather. I'm also thankful for the time that I did have with my mom. There are plenty of people all over the world who don't have parents and never get any time with them."

_She is the single most amazing person in the world. She's been through so much and yet she's happy and still so thankful for everything she has._ Kyou thought with a look of admiration on his face as he looked at Tohru.

Tohru noticed Kyou looking at her and her cheeks flushed. It's not that he was looking at her, but the way he was looking at her. He was looking at her as if she was something special. He was looking at her as if he liked her, too. Finally Tohru couldn't take it anymore and just asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kyou's face now turned red to match Tohru's. "I was just thinking how amazing you are." He replied as his face and her's both turned a deeper red.

"I'm not anything special." Tohru said.

"You are the most amazing person I have ever met. You have gone through so much and yet here you are happy. You have lost so much and yet you are thankful for what you have. I wish I could be more like you." Kyou said making Tohru's face a lovely shade of fire engine red. Kyou suddenly got an idea. He was going to tell Tohru how he felt. He took her hand and said, "Come up to the roof with me." Tohru nodded and Kyou pulled her towards the roof.

Shigure sat in the dark of the kitchen smiling. _So it may just finally happen tonight._

Tohru and Kyou sat next to each other on the roof top staring up at the stars. A shooting star came across the sky. "Make a wish." Tohru said in her happy voice. _I wish that Kyou likes me too._ Tohru wished.

_I wish for Tohru to feel the same way about me as I do about her._ Kyou wished with all his heart. _I wish that this all goes right._ It was silent for a moment. "Tohru?"

"Yes?"

"There's something I want to tell you." Kyou said his cheeks flushing slightly.

"What is it Kyou?"

"I…I…li…umm…" Kyou struggled.

"You can tell me anything, Kyou." Tohru said with an encouraging smile.

Suddenly it came to Kyou exactly what he would say. "I'm not very good at this kind of thing, but here goes. I think you are the songle most amazing person I have ever met. You are the only person who has ever _wanted_ to get to know me. You're the only person who has _wanted_ to stay with me even after seeing me for the monster that I am."

Tohru interrupted him here, "You aren't a monster. You just have something bad inside of you that you don't want. Everybody has something bad inside of them, but it's no part of them other than that."

"This is exactly what I mean, Tohru. Even if there's something bad, you find a way to make it sound so much better. You make everything better. I like you a lot. I really care about you. And I know that someone as beautiful and wonderful as you couldn't feel the same way about me, but I wanted you to know how I feel." Kyou said finally confessing his feelings.

Tohru was shocked. He cared about her too. "I know that you would probably like someone normal." Kyou continued. "Someone who isn't a mon…"

Tohru once again interrupted Kyou, but this time with a kiss. Kyou was completely caught off-guard. He'd hoped for her to care for him too, but he'd been prepared for rejection. "I really care about you, too. Kyou." Tohru said when she pulled away.

They stayed on the roof and watched the sunrise together. They were holding hands and smiling the whole rest of the time. After a while Kyou decided to ask Tohru a question. "Would you like to go out to see a movie and have dinner with me tonight?"

Tohru smiled. Kyou cared about her too and he wanted to take her out on a date. "Yes."

Kyou leaned over and kissed Tohru's cheek. It was the happiest day of his life.

**A/N: what did you think? Please read and review?**


	13. Chapter 13

Tohru and Kyou sat in the living room looking over the entertainment section of the newspaper. They were trying to decide what movie to see for their first date. Kyou wanted to see anaction movie of course, but he also wanted something Tohru would like. Tohru wanted to see something sweet and romantic, but she also wanted a movie that Kyou would like. After a while the two finally settled on a movie. It was called, Karate and Love (**A/N: I completely made that up**). It was perfect because it had karate for Kyou and a little romance for Tohru. Then they had to pick a restaurant. That was a lot easier. They settled on a seafood place.

Yuki had left early that morning. School would be starting up in a couple weeks and as Student Council President, Yuki had some things he had to take care of. When he had left Kyou and Tohru had still been on the roof. He had no idea that Tohru and Kyou had a date. Shigure was supposed to be spending the day in his study working on his next book. Unfortunately, he never liked staying confined in his study. He also enjoyed poking his nose into other people's business.

After Tohru and Kyou had decided what all they were going to do, Shigure entered the room. "My, my. What have we here? A couple of love birds, perhaps?"

At this the faces of the two teens reddened. For once Kyou didn't get angry. He didn't try to beat the daylights out of Shigure. He was actually happy that somebody knew. In fact, he would be perfectly fine of the whole world knew that he and Tohru had a date. She was his everything and he wanted to shout it from the highest mountain top for the whole world to hear.

"I'll take your red-faced silence as a yes. And I just have one thing to tell you kids." Shigure said, a sly smile coming across his face.

"Oh, yeah, what's that?" Kyou inquired ready to punch Shigure in the face when he said something perverted.

"It's about time." He answered and then laughed.

Kyou calmed down, well except for his face turning a brighter crimson, but it was alright; Tohru's face matched his. Shigure laughed harder at the red-faced teens and then walked back to his study. As Shigure sat in his study he had a sudden burst of inspiration. He began writing about an orange-haired boy and a blue-eyed girl.

Kyou spent the whole day with Tohru. He helped her cook and clean, ignoring her protests. He loved how she wanted to take care of everyone, but he wanted to show her that he could help her and even take care of her, too. Tohru glanced up at the clock and said, "Oh my goodness. We need to be getting ready for our date."

Kyou smiled. He loved the way that sounded. "Yes we do." He said wearing a silly grin on his face. He leaned over and kissed Tohru's cheek. Her pale cheek flushed slightly at the touch of his lips and a smile came to beoth their faces. Kyou finished up the dishes and Tohru finished sweeping the floor. They headed up the stairs and to theor rooms to get ready. Kyou pulled on a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a red button-up shirt over it. He combed his hair and brushed his teeth. He even decided to put on a little cologne. He was starting to get nervous as he went down the steps to wait for Tohru. It was finally happening. He and Tohru were finally going on a date. This is what made him nervous, but it also had him excited.

Tohru decided to wear her jean skirt, a red tank top, and a black button-up shirt over it. She brushed her hair and pulled half of it up in a red ribbon. She smiled at her reflection. It was the night she and Kyou would have their first date. She was excited and yet slightly nervous. She walked down the stairs and saw Kyou waiting for her. She smiled at him and then giggled.

"What's so funny?" He asked his nerves getting the better of him.

"We match." She said gesturing to their clothes.

He smiled. "Yea we do, but it looks a lot better on you." He said and leaned in to kiss Tohru on the cheek. "Are you ready?"

Tohru nodded and Kyou took her hand. As they started walking out the door they heard Shigure call, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do and that means do anything because there's nothing I wouldn't do."

Tohru ignored Shigure. Kyou mumbled, "Pervert." Under his breath, but was otherwise too happy to pay any attention to the dog. Soon they arrived at the theatre where Kyou bought their tickets. They then went over to the snack counter and ordered a soda and popcorn to share. The theatre was pretty much empty except for a few of the employees and a couple of other movie goers, but they weren't seeing the same movie as Kyou and Tohru. In fact, the room they were in was empty of people except for themselves. Tohru picked out a couple of seats in the middle of the room. They sat and prepared to watch the show.

Evey so often Kyou would lean over and kiss Tohru. Sometimes he kissed her on the cheek. Sometimes he kissed her forehead, and sometimes he would find her lips. Tohru blushed at every kiss and yet she enjoyed them as well as returning them. When she would return his little pecks, Kyou would turn red as well. Kyou had a hard time watching the movie. He could hardly take his eyes off of Tohru.

When the movie was over, they headed for the seafood restaurant. They were led to a table where Kyou pulled Tohru's chair out for her and then seated himself. They were handed menus and ordered their drinks. "How did you like the movie?" Kyou asked.

"It was pretty good." Tohru answered. "What about you?"

"I liked it, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. I could barely keep my eyes off you." He replied making Tohru blush yet again. He then took her hand in his and placed a kiss upon it. Of course he kept a hold of her hand. Before long the waitress was back to take their order. Kyou ordered the salmon while Tohru ordered the tuna. When she left, Kyou and Tohru went back to their own little world. Their dinner was brought to them and soon they finished it off. Of course they weren't ready for their date to be over so they went for a moonlit walk in the park.

They held hands as they strolled along. They talked and laughed. As they were walking Kyou saw a purple tulip and plucked up and handed it to Tohru. "A beautiful flower for the most beautiful girl in the world."

Tohru accepted the flower with a blush. Kyou caressed her cheek with his hand. She looked up at him and he looked deep into the sapphire pools that sparkled in the moonlight. He placed his hands on either side of her face and pulled her face closer to his. His lips met hers in a kiss filled with tender passion. They pulled away and before either one could stop themselves, they embraced and poof, Tohru was holding an orange cat.


	14. Chapter 14

Yuki entered the house expecting to smell dinner cooking, the sound of shuffling around the kitchen, and Tohru's happy laughter. When he stepped in the door, the house was silent. He walked into the kitchen and did not find Tohru there. He walked about the whole house searching for her and expecting an assault from Kyou at any moment, but alas Tohru nor Kyou was anywhere to be found.

Yuki walked into Shigure's study and found him there typing away on his computer. "Where is Ms. Honda…and that stupid cat? Did they go grocery shopping." Yuki inquired.

"No. Tohru left some stew in the fridge. It just needs to be heated up." Shigure replied trying to think of how to tell Yuki about Tohru and Kyou's date.

"Where are Ms. Honda and the stupid cat?" Yuki repeated a note of anger in his voice.

Shigure stopped typing and turned around to face Yuki. He took off his glasses and said, "They went out for dinner and a movie."

"You mean like a…" Yuki began, but couldn't finish.

"Not like, is." Shigure answered. "Tohru and Kyou are out on a date."

"He had better not hurt her." Yuki said as he glared at the floor. He didn't like Ms. Honda that way, but she was more like a sister to him. He felt very protective of her. He didn't like the idea of his sister dating that stupid cat, but he did want her to be happy. He had known for a while that she liked Kyou and that he made her happy. Kyou was such an angry person, although not so much lately. Ever since Tohru saw Kyou's true form and still wanted to stay, Kyou had changed. He'd actually changed just being around Tohru even before that. Yuki realized that Tohru had not just changed himself, but Kyou as well. _Perhaps they would be good for each other._ Yuki thought to himself.

While Yuki was thinking, the door came open. He and Shigure headed out to see Tohru holding an orange cat and a pile of clothes in her arms.

Shigure began laughing, but tried to conceal and calm his laughter. He wanted to encourage this relationship.

"I'm guessing you two forgot about the curse, for a moment." Yuki said stating the obvious.

Kyou leaped from Tohru's arms and glared up at Yuki. "Yes, thank you Capitan Obvious." Kyou hissed. Yuki had gotten Kyou's dander up.

Tohru picked up Kyou off the floor and kissed the top of his furry head. He instantly calmed and ignored Yuki. Tohru walked into the kitchen and pulled the stew out of the fridge and placed it on the stove and turned it on all while still holding Kyou.

Yuki came in the kitchen and said, "Don't worry about that Ms. Honda. I'll take care of it."

"Okay." Tohru said. "It should be plenty good and warm in about five minuets." She then went up the stairs still holding Kyou. Without thinking about it she went into her room and took Kyou with her.

"As much as I like being in your arms," Kyou spoke up calling Tohru's attention," you can put me down now."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Tohru said as she gently place Kyou on the floor.

"You don't have to apologize." Kyou said as he went over and rubbed his kitty head against Tohru's leg and then began weaving around her legs.

Tohru began giggling and fell back onto her bed.

"What?" Kyou asked.

"Your fur tickled." She answered stifling her giggles.

"Oh." Kyou said and then poof, he was standing in the middle of Tohru's room no longer a cat, but a naked young man. He and Tohru both blushed as Tohru covered her eyes and Kyou tried to cover… himself.

"Here's your clothes." Tohru said thrusting out her arm that had his clothes.

Kyou quickly grabbed his clothes and threw them on. "Okay you can look now."

"Tohru uncovered her eyes and turned to face Kyou. Kyou moved over to sit next to her on the bed. He had a serious look on his face.

"What's wrong, Kyou?" Tohru asked reaching her hand out to stroke his cheek.

"Why do you like me?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Tohru asked perplexed.

"Out of all the guys in the world, that you could have liked, why me? I mean we can't really hug and I'm a monster."

"That's an easy question, but be fore I tell you why we have to get one thing straight." She said her eyes bright.

"What's that?"

"You are not a monster. You just turn into something that looks like a monster because of a curse that you never asked for nor do you deserve." She replied.

Kyou smiled. "Okay."

"I like you because you are amazing." She began. "You make me happy. You are strong willed. You fight for what you believe. You are always there for me. You were there for me when I had that nightmare. You took care of me twice when I was sick and even made leek soup for me and I know how much you hate leeks. You gave me a shoulder to cry on when I was missing my mom and you wiped away my tears."

Kyou smiled. _Only Tohru could care about a monster like me_. He thought. _She has the biggest heart of anyone I know._

Tohru leaned over and kissed Kyou on the lips. "You are amazing." She repeated as she pulled away.

Kyou smiled lazily and said, "You are even more amazing." Then he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her lips to his.

After a while, Kyou left Tohru's room so that they both could get some sleep. He walked into his room and was greeted by Yuki. "You are now dating Miss Honda." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"What's it to ya?" Kyou snapped.

"She is like a sister to me and if you hurt her in any way or ruin her innocence, I swear I will kill you." Yuki threatened.

"Look you darn rat, I would never hurt Tohru. She is my whole world. I would never try and get her to do anything she didn't want to do. I'm not like that and besides I respect her too much."

Yuki was shocked. Kyou hadn't really respected anyone or anything ever before. "You really have changed." Yuki mumbled.

"What was that?" Kyou snapped.

"Nothing, you stupid cat!" Yuki snapped back and then stormed out of the room.

Kyou stepped into his pjs, but he knew he couldn't sleep. That darn rat had gotten his dander up again. _Where does he get the right to lecture me?_ Kyou thought angrily. Then he went up to the roof to think.

Kyou laid on the roof staring up at the stars. They twinkled just like Tohru's eyes. For some reason he could not understand, her eyes lit up whenever she looked at him. _She explained why she likes me, but I still don't understand it._ Kyou thought. _Maybe I should just stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy_. And that's exactly what he did.

He started to think about how wonderful her hand felt in his. He thought about how nice it was to be in her arms even though it turned him into a cat. Of course he thought about how blissfully happy he was whenever their lips met. Before he knew it, Kyou was fast asleep dreaming sweet dreams of Tohru. He dreamed about being wrapped in her arms and not turning into a cat. In his dream it was just he and Tohru in each other's arms, happier than anyone else had ever been.


	15. Chapter 15

Tohru woke the next morning with a smile on her face. she got up out of bed and was ready for the day in just a few minutes. She went downstairs and started on breakfast. She decided to make chocolate chip pancakes.

The smell of the pancakes woke Shigure and he came to sit at the table, which tohru had already set. Yuki had already left. Once again, he had things to take care of to prepare for the start of the new school year. Kyou was still sound asleep on the roof, dreaming sweet dreams of Tohru.

Tohru thiught back to the previous evening. _It was so amazing to be with Kyou, last night. I really liked how he kept kissing me._ She blushed as she thought of how his lips had felt on hers.

Soon breakfast was finished and Tohtu sat the pancakes on the table. 'Good morning Shigure." She practically sang, she was so happy.

"Good morning, Tohru." Shigure greeted looking up from his paper. "I'm guessing that your date with Kyou went well last night?"

Tohru blushed. "Yes it did." She replied. "I had better go wake him up." She then ran up the stairs, to Kyou's room.

"Ah, young love." Shigure sighed and then started helping himself to pancakes.

Tohru knocked on Kyou's door adn heard no response. She opened the door and walked inside. He was nowhere to be found. she then checked the bathroom and her room. He was not there. There was only one other place he could be. She climbed to the roof and found him there sound asleep. She walked over to him and kissed his lips.

"Huh?" Kyou said as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Good morning." Tohru said cheerfully.

_So it wasn't just a wonderful dream._ Kyou thought and then grinned. "Good morning." He then sat up and kissed Tohru's cheek. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to be awake."

Tohru smiled and her eyes brightened. "I made pancakes for breakfast."

"That sounds delicious." Kyou said as he kissed Tohru again.

They walked to the kitchen, hand-in-hand. Shigure looked at the pair and smiled. "Well aren't you two just cute."

They both blushed and Kyou hit Shigure. "Hey!" Shigure said as he rubbed his head. Kyou wasn't used to the attention. He also wasn't used to be red-faced either. After he calmed down, he took his seat at the table. Tohru sat next to him and they began eating the pancakes.

Before long the pancakes were devoured and Kyou was helping Tohru wash the dishes. "What would you think of having a picnic, today?" Kyou asked Tohru.

"That sounds wonderful." Tohru replied happy to go anywhere or do anything with Kyou. "I'll start making the food. I'll make some riceballs and ..."

"Hold on." Kyou interupted with a smile.

"What? You don't want riceballs?" Tohru asked her blue eyes sad.

"No, riceballs are fine. I'm going to make lunch for you." He answered his smile widening. "you are always taking care of me and those other two. I'm going to take care of you." He then kissed her cheek.

Tohru smiled. "Okay." She stretched up on her toes and kissed Kyou's lips. They were a perfectly happy couple.

Tohru went upstairs to shower and get ready for the picnic with Kyou. She dried her hair and brushed it. She pulled half of it back with a pink ribbon. She then pulled on a white skirt, a pink tank top, and a white lacey cardigan. She checked her reflection and then smiled.

Kyou was downsatirs in the kitchen making their lunch. He made riceballs, sandwhiches, and some corn. After the lunch was made and put in the picnic basket Kyou went upstairs to get dressed and grab the picnic blanket. He pulled on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a light blue button-up shirt over it. He went to the closet and grabbed the picnic blanket. He then took the blanket downstairs and put it in the picnic basket. Now all he had to do was wait for Tohru. Normally he he was a very impatient person, but it didnt'a bother him to wait for Tohru.

Tohru came down the stairs and Kyou thought she looked so beautiful. He smiled at her and took her hand and kissed her cheek. "You ready to go beautiful?" He asked making Tohru's cheeks pink. She nodded in response. He bent down and kissed her cheek again and then started to pull her out the door.

They followed the path from the house for a little while and then Kyou led Tohru off the oath and started to walk through the woods. "Where are we going?" Tohru asked trying to mask the worry in her voice but failing. Going away from the path scared her just a little bit. _What of we get lost?_ She thought.

Kyou stopped and looked back at her and smiled. And then he respnded as of he could read her mind. "We won't get lost. Sometimes when I need some time alone instead of going to the roof I come to this place and I want to take you to it."

Tohru smiled. _He's taking me to a special secret place!_ She thought. She was excited, it wasn't everyday a boy takes you to a special place he goes to when he likes to be alone.

Before long they reached what appeared to be a dead end It was a bunch of bushes. Kyou parted the bushes and stepped through then he held out his hand for Tohru and helped her through. Tohru's eyes widened and sparkled, and her smile widened as well. The place was beautiful. They stood at the bank of a beautiful river and were surrounded by wild flowers. "It's beautiful out here." She said to Kyou.

Kyou servayed the land and then looked at Tohru. "You're more beautiful." Which instantly made Tohru's cheeks redden. He smiled. He loved how he could make her blush. "You look even more beautiful like that." He said.

Tohru's blush deepened, but she was confused. "L-like w-what?" She asked in a shy voice.

"When you blush. That shade of red looks beautiful on your cheeks." He replied and then gently stroked one of her flaming cheeks.

Tohru blushed even further and turned her red face away from him. Kyou grinned and out down the basket. He then put one hand under Tohru's chin and coaxed her face to look up at his. He stared deep into her eyes before bending down to gently kiss her lips. The kiss was short and sweet, but filled with a tender passion. When they broke apart they stood and stared into each other's eyes for an immeasurable amount of time.

After a while Kyou bent down and pulled out the blanket from the picnic basket. He spread it out and then helped Tohru sit down. He then seated himself next to her and began pulling out the food he had prepared. He filled a plate for Tohru before filling a plate for himself. "You should have let me do that." Tohru said used to taking care of everyone else.

Kyou looked at Tohru and took her face in his hands. "No." He said with a grin. "You are my princess and I plan on treating you as such." He then kissed her forehead and then looked at her once again red face.

Soon they were eating the food Kyou had prepared for his princess. After they finished there was still quite a while left in the day and Kyou wans't ready to take Tohru back to the house. He wanted to be alone with her for a little while longer. "Let's just stay here for a while longer?" Kyou said taking Tohru's hand in his. "I'm not ready to go back to the house yet."

Tohru grinned at him. "Okay." She was happy to go along with whatever Kyou wanted. In truth she wanted to be alone with him a while longer just as much as he wanted to be alone with her. She leaned closer to Kyou and kissed his cheek. He smiled and then kissed her lips.

They spent the rest of the day lying back on the blanket, holding hands, and looking up at the sky and seeing patterns in the clouds.

"That one looks like a cat." Tohru said with a small smile.

Kyou looked at the cloud she was pointing at and said, "Not just a cat," he replied, "but a cat standing over a dead rat."

Tohru couldn't help but laugh. _I guess they will always hate each other. If only they didn't have this curese, maybe just maybe they could be friends._ Tohru thought to herself. _Or maybe they would still hate each other just because that's the way it's always been. If only they'd never been cursed, then they would for sure be friends._ She sighed internally. _If only._ She thought and then kissed Kyou's cheek.


	16. Chapter 16

Yuki came home early from the student council meeting. He once again found that Kyo and Tohru were out on a date and Shigure was in his office "working" on his latest book. Luckily for Yuki lunch had been provided for the members of the student council.

He walked up to his room and changed his clothes. _Maybe I'll go to the garden and weed it. Maybe some of the strawberries will be ready._ Yuki thought. He then decided that that was exactly what he would do. He walked to his "Secret base" and started pulling weeds. He had been right. Some of the strawberries and some of the leeks were ready.

After Yuki had finished up picking and weeding he heard a thundering sound coming down the path. He looked up it and saw a flash of brown hair and a green dress. _Kagura!_ Yuki thought. He knew she had come to see Kyou and would be devestated when she found out that he was dating Tohru. Luckily he knew a shortcut to the house and could beat her there to warn Shigure and hopefully come up with a plan.

He headed to some bushes and rushed through them holding tightly to the basket of fstrawberries and leeks. He reached the house and ran into Shigure's office. "Kagura is headed this way."

Shigure looked up from his work. "We need to prepare he for when Kyou and Tohru come home." He spoke in a clear calm manner.

"I know, but how?" Yuki asked.

"Simple, we just sit her down and have a talk with her. We tell her, but gently of course."

"Okay, I'll go and set up the dining table. She should be here in just a few more minutes." Yuki said as he walked out.

Shigure smiled inwardly. _What great material for my book! A love triangle! Oh how wonderful!_ He thought to himself. _How unfortunate for Kagura though_.

"I'm here!" Kagura shouted as she thundered into the house knocking down Shigure's door...again. "Where is my little kitten?" She asked running to the dining room.

Yuki looked up at her from the table. "Have a seat Kagura." He said calmly and flashing her a smile.

Shigure then entered the room and took a seat next to Yuki. "Hello Kagura." He said smiling.

"What's going on?" She asked worry crossing her face. "Where's Kyou?"

"If you'll sit down, we will tell you." Shigure said unusually calm and nice.

Kagura took a seat across from the two wearilly.

"Kagura, I know that you have loved Kyou since you were kids, but..." Shigure began but was cut off by Kagura.

"No!" She screamed. "I don't want to hear it!" She then childishly covered her ears.

Yuki got up from his seat and went over to Kagura. He pulled her hands off her ears and looked at her. "He is out on a date with Miss Honda."

Tears formed in Kagura's eyes as she looked at Yuki. _There's no way it's true. Kyou would never cheat on me!_ She screamed inside her head.

As if able to read her thoughts, Yuki spoke again. "It's true Kagura. They are dating."

Before Yuki could react Kagura was out of his grip and running through the house smashing doors and anything else she could break. Shigure sighed and got up. He waited for Kagura to come past him and when she did he used the same presure point he used on Ritsu. It worked and Kagura came to the floor knocked out cold.

"Let's get her up to the guest bedroom." Shigure said picking up the young girl. Yuki helped him by opening the door and pulling back the covers. They walked back downstairs and waited for Kyou and Tohru to return.

After a few more hours Kyou and Tohru reluctantly came back home. They were walking back in a blissful state until they reached the house and saw that the front door had been knocked down and smashed. "I wonder what happened?" Tohru said a confused look on her face.

Kyou stared at the door open-mouthed. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomache. _She can't be here! Not now! Not when everything is finally going right._

Tohru looked up at Kyou. She could tell he knew something, but she thought it best not to say anything. They would find out soon enough. They walked in the houe and found Shigure and Yuki sitting in the living room.

"What happened to the door?" Tohru asked and then glanced around "And the rest of the house?"

Shigure looked up from his newspaper. "Kagura." He answered simply.

"We told her." Yuki said.

Tohru looked down at her feet. She had completely forgotten about Kagura, the girl who had been in love with Kyou forever.

"Where is she now?" Kyou asked annoyance clear on his face and present in his voice.

"She's in the guest bedroom. Shigure did that thing he does to Ri." Yuki answered.

"And she should be waking up in three...two...one." Shigure said and right after he said one, they heard a loud crashing sound coming from upstairs. Then they heard what sounded like a stampede coming down the stairs.

Kagura ran straight for Kyou. "You cheater!" She screamed at him tears of sadness and anger falling down her cheeks.

Kyou was able to grab onto her shoulders before she could hit him. She stopped and looked up at him her tear stained eyes filled with pain and heartbreak. "We need to talk." He told her. He let go of one of her shoulders and reached over and squeezed Tohru's hand. "I'll be back soon." He said with a small smile.

Tohru smiled hesitantly back at him. Kyou then walked out the door pulling Kagura down the path. As soon as they'd gotten far enough away from the house Kyou stopped and turned to face Kagura. Before he could even open his mouth Kagura was shouting at him.

"How could you do this to me Kyou? How could you cheat on me?" She screamed, hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kyou looked at the girl. He let out a sigh and began, "First off we need to get something straight, I'm not cheating on you."

"So you aren't dating Tohru?" Kagura asked hoping it was all a joke.

"I am dating Tohru, but it's not cheating on you." He said.

"That's the definition of cheating!" She shouted. "When you're in a relationship with someone and you're seeing someone else, that's cheating!"

"Exactly." Kyou said simply.

Kagura looked at him questioningly.

"I'm not cheating on you because you and I aren't in a relationship." He answered.

"When did you break up with me?" She asked him utterly confused.

"I didn't break up with you. Kagura you and I Have. Never. Been. In. A. Relationship." Kyou said the last part slowly to make sure she heard it.

Kagura's eyes widened. "But you asked me to marry you."

"Because you threatened me." He said. "I've never loved you."

Kagura looked at the ground. She loved Kyou, how could he not love her back?

Kyou then let out a sigh and siad something he never would have said before. "Someone once told me that it was a wonderful thing to have someone in your life that loves you as much as you love me. I really should thank you for loving me when no one else did."

Kagura's eyes widened in understanding. She knew exactly why he had said that and who had told him that. She knew he was right. She knew what she had to do. "I need to talk to Tohru." She said looking up from the ground.

Kyou's eyes widened. The look on Kagura's face stunned him. Her eyes and cheeks showed that she had been crying, but she had a determined look on her face, but it also held acceptance. Before he could speak, Kagura was racing back to the house. Kyou ran after her half afraid and half relieved.

While Kyou and Kagura were having their little talk, Tohru had gone up to her room and burried her face in her pillow and cried. _I never wanted to hurt Kagura. I had completely forgotten about her. How could I have done that?_ Tohru scolded herself mentally. _Mom, would know exactly what to do._ She then looked at her mom's picture. She then dried her tears and put on a look of determination.

_I'm going to go and see Mom._ She told herself. She knew that If she went downstairs Yuki and Shigure would ask her where she was going, so she decided to sneak out. She found a way to climb out her window and she went to grab her shoes. No one was by the broken front door. SHe grabbed her shoes and slipped them on and headed for the graveyard.

"I'm going to check on Miss Honda." Yuki said glancing up the stairs. "She looked very upset."

Shigure spoke not looking up from his paper, "I would be too in her position."

Yuki ignored Shigure and headed upstairs and to Tohru's room. He gently knocked on the door, the only one Kagura had not smashed in the entire house. There was no answer. _aybe she fell asleep_. He thought and then cracked the door slightly to look inside. Tohru was not in the room. He opened the door further just to be sure and there was no Miss Honda. He went to look through the rest of the house and could not find her.

"Have you seen Miss Honda?" Yuki asked Shigure as he came back down the stairs.

"No, I haven't. She wasn't in her room?" He asked looking up from his paper.

"No and I've looked all over the rest of the house and can't find her." Yuki said with a sigh. "I walked by the remnants of the front door and her shoes were gone."

"She snuck out on us." Shigure said with a small smile. "I wonder where she went?"

Yuki couldn't help but smile too. Miss Honda sneaking out! How funny, but at the same time a line of worry crossed his brow.

Just then Kagura stampeded in the house. "Where's Tohru? I have to talk to her." She said with the look of someone on a mission.

Kyu burst through the door just then. "Where's Tohru?" He asked.

"We don't know." Yuki said looking down at his feet.

"What do ya mean you don't know you stupid rat?" Kyou shouted.

Shigure cleared his throat to interupt. "It seems our beautiful flower has snuck out on us." He said dramatically.

Kyou just looked shocked. That was so unlike Tohru.

"I'll go find her!" Kagura said still determined. She then ran passed a stunned Kyou and out the door.

Tohru sat in front of her mother's grave crying. "I miss you, Mom." She spoke allowed through the tears. "You know that I've been staying with the Sohmas and well now Kyou and I are dating. Kagura has loved him for a long time and she's hurt bad by me and Kyou dating, Mom. I need to know what to do. I want to be friends with Kagura, but I can't give up Kyou. He means so much to me." Tohru then stopped talking because she could no longer talk through the tears.

A noise came from behind her. Tohru panicked and got up and ran. She tripped on a tree root and fell. She let out a small scream of pain as she heard her ankle snap and felt the pain climb up her leg. she screamed again as she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"It's just me." said a familiar voice.

Tohru looked up to see kagura standing behind her. "oh, hi." Tohru said in a voice colored with pain.

"I didn't mean to scare you are you alright?" Kagura said gently.

Tohru nodded. Her ankle hurt, but she didn't want Kagura to feel guilty. _I've already put her through enough_. Tohru thought to herself.

Kagura reached out a hand to help Tohru up. Tohru took her hand and hesitantly stood. As soon as she put wait on her ankle she let out a shriek of pain. Kagura instantly wrapped an arm around Tohru's waist and pulled Tohru's arm to wrap around her shoulder. "I'll help you back to the house." She said smiling sweetly at Tohru.

Tohru looked at Kagura. "Y-you're not m-mad at me?" She questioned.

Kagura smiled. "Nope, I'm not."

"Why not?" Tohru asked puzzled.

"How bout we start walking back to the house and I'll tekk you to keep your mind off the pain?" She said.

Tohru nodded in agreement. She definately needed something to keep her mind off the pain.

"When Kyou took me outside to talk to me, he told me that we'd never been together and that he never returned my love, and it finally sunk in that that was the truth." She said.

"Oh." Tohru said. "Is that all?"

Kagura looked up at Tohru. "Of course not. I realized that Kyou has changed and for the better. I know that it's because of you." She said smiling.

"How do you know that?" Tohru inquired.

"He thanked me for loving him, whjen no one else did." She answered. "That's when I realized that he had changed and it was because of you."

Tohru smiled and blushed. _I couldn't have caused a change in him._ She thought to herself, but then she thought about it more and realized that maybe Kagura was right.

Soon the two girls reached the house and walked inside, well Kagura walked and Tohru limped, Kagura fully supporting her weight.

Kyou looked up from the chair he was sitting in. He saw Tohru limping and was instantly at her side. "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked looking at her worry creasing his brow.

"I tripped and hurt my ankle." She replied.

Kagura and Kyou both helped Tohru over to the couch. Kyou got on the floor and looked at Tohru's ankle. It was swollen really badly. "I'd better call Hatori." He said jumping up and running to the phone. He dialed Hatori's number and waited impatiently for rge doctor to answer.

"Hello?" Came Hatori's voice.

"Hatori, it's Kyou. Tohru tripped and fell and hurt her ankle. It's swollen really bad. Can you come and look at it?" Kyou said without hesitation.

"Yes, I'll be there in about an hour. Prop her ankle up and put some ice on it until I get there." Hatori said.

"Okay, thanks. Bye." Kyou said and then hung up the phone. He grabbed some pillows from a closet and then headed into the kitchen to get and ice pack. He came back into the living room and helped Tohru prop her foot up and gently placed the ice on it. He kissed her forehead and then sat down beside her and held her hand.

"Hatori said he'd be here in about an hour." Kyou said and then anxiously began stroking Tohru's hair.

Tohru reached back and grabbed his hand. "I'll be fine." She said smiling that big goofey grin Kyou loved so much. Kyou could see the hint of pain that smile hid and he hated seeing it there. He wanted to make everything better. He couldn't stand seeing Tohru, his Tohru, in pain.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for all of your reviews. I hope you continue to read and review.**

Shigure put down his newspaper and went to his study. He knew that Hari would need a place to set up his portable x-ray machine and to examine Tohru's ankle. _My study is the perfect place_. He thought tohimself as he cleared papers and moved furniture around.

After setting up his study, he came back out to check on Tohru. Of course between her now boyfriend, Kyou, and her "brother," Yuki, the girl was in need of no more care other than professional of course. Kyou sat by Tohru holding her hand and every once in a while adjusting the ice pack on her swollen ankle. Yuki kept asking her if she needed anything and she would respond with a polite and sweet, "No, I'm fine, but thank you." Kagura was still at the house. She sat on Tohru's other side. She was silent, but every once in a while she would reach over and pat Tohru's hand.

Shigure smiled at the sight. Just then he heard a knock on the door. He went to answer it and naturally Hari was there. "Hello, Hari." He greeted in his usual manner.

Before Hari could open his mouth the small tiger girl, peeked out from behind Hari's leg and spoke, "How is Sissy? Is she okay?"

Shigure bent down and patted Kisa's head. "Hello Kisa. I'm sure Tohru will be fine. She hurt her ankle pretty bad, but I'm sure seeing you will make her feel better."

Kisa smiled.

"When she heard I was coming here because Tohru was hurt, she told me she was coming too." Hari said. "Where is Tohru?"

"She's in the living room. I've set up my study so that you can examine her in there." Shigure answered getting up and leading the way to the living room.

Hari nodded and walked in the living room to see Tohru surrounded by Kyou, Yuki, and Kagura. The teenagers looked up as Hari entered. Kisa raced over to Tohru and threw herself in Tohru's arms. "Are you okay, Sissy? Does it hurt?" She asked looking up at Tohru's face searchong for any sign of pain.

In truth Tohru's ankle hurt fiercely, but she kept on a brave face. She didn't want Kisa to worry about her. "I'm fine. It hurts a little, but it's not that bad." She answered smiling, forcing every trace of pain away from her face.

Kyou, Yuki, and Kagura however were not fooled. They could see that Tohru was in excruciating pain. None of them however, mentioned this with Kisa there.

"Make room for the doctor." Hari said making his way over to Tohru.

Kisa, Kagura, and Yuki all moved so that Hari could take a look at Tohru's ankle. Kyou didn't move. He was determined to stay with Tohru.

Hari bent down and removed the ice pack. _Her ankle is definately broken._ He thought to himself as he looked at the swollen joint. "I'm going to go and set up in Shigure's study. I'll be back out in a little bit." He then stood up and headed into Shigure's study. Shigure came with him to help.

"How long has it been?" Hari asked Shigure.

"A couple of days." he answered.

"Akito won't like this." Hari said remembering.

"Akito doesn't need to know, at least not at this time." Shigure said.

"I know, but when he does find out..." Hari trailed off.

"It's been in the making sense she first came into our lives. She loves and accepts everyone of us." Shigure said. "It was bound to happen eventually."

Hari nodded as he set up the portable x-ray machine.

After a half hour, everything was set up and Hari came out. "We need to get you in the study. Do you think you can..." before Hari could finish his sentence Kagura was jumping up.

"Here. I'll help." She then scooped Tohru up in her arms and carried her to Shigure's study. For someone so small, she was very strong. Hari headed for the room after the girls and the others just stayed in the living room. Even Shigure came out. They all sat in silence waiting for Hari to come out and tell them what was wrong.

Kagura gently sat Tohru down in a chair that reclined back. Hari knelt down on the floor and started poke around on Tohru's ankle and asked if it hurt. She would tell him when it hurt usually with a little whimper of pain. Hari then pulled out a lead blanket to wrap around Tohru and lead vest for himself and Kagura. He then pulled the portable machine around and adjusted Tohru's ankle. She bit her lip and tears fell from her eyes.

Kagura reached over and squeezed Tohru's hand. "Whenever it hurts just squeeze my hand as hard as you can." She told Tohru.

Tohru nodded and then hesitantly squeezed Kagura's hand.

Kagura looked at her. "You can squeeze harder." She said and gave Tohru an encouraging smile.

Hari went and adjusted Tohru's ankle again and Tohru squeezed Kagura's hand with as much strength as she had. Kagura was not phased. She let Tohru squeeze her hand. Tohru's strength may have hurt somone else, but it didn't hurt Kagura. She had become good at blocking out physical pain. All of the Sohmas were.

After what seemed like forever, Hari was finished examining Tohru's ankle. He looked at the pictures he had taken with the x-ray machine, and he saw exactly where the break was. It was a clean break all the way through. He pulled some supplies from his bag and knelt on the floor in front of Tohru again. "I'm going to set your broken bones. This is going to hurt... a lot.' He told Tohru looking up at her.

Tohru just nodded and looked at Kagura. "Just squeeze." Kagura looked at Tohru giving her another reassuring smile. Tohru nodded again.

Hari began to move and straighten Tohru's ankle. Tohru sueezed even harder on Kagura's hand and bit down on her lip as tears of pain streamed down her face. Hari made one final movement in setting her broken bones and Tohru let out a loud cry of pain, before passing out.

Kyou instantly jumped up upon hearing the sound of Tohru's scream. He ran to the door of Shigure's study and Kagura came out of the room, just as he was about to open it. She smiled tentatively at him. "She's going to be fine." She said anticipating his question. "Her ankle is broken and Hari was setting it so he could put a cast on it."

Kyou thought back to a time when he was younger. He looked at his right arm. Just looking at it no one would ever know that just eight years earlier, it had been broken. He remembered when hatori had set that break. It was the most painful part of having a broken arm.

Kagura looked at his arm and then up at him knowingly. "I'm going to leave you alone." She told him.

Kyou looked confused.

"I realize that you belong with Tohru and not with me." She said. "that's why I went to talk to her. I needed to tell her that everything was okay. I needed to let her know that I still wanted to be her friend."

Kyou just looked at Kagura, stunned. "Thank you." was all he could think to say.

After a little while longer Hari came out and looked at Kyou and Kagura. "I've set the bones and given her a plaster cast. She's going to be just fine. I gave her some medicine for the pain so she's going to be out of it for the rest of the night. She just needs lots of rest. I have crutches in the car that I'll bring inside. I'll be back in tomorrow with a wheel chair."

Kyou nodded.

Hari went out to the car to get the crutches. Kyou went into an empty room on the first floor. He opened up the closet and pulled out a couple of mats nd laid them on the floor, one for Tohru, and one for himself. He then went to the linen closet and pulled out blankets and a couple of pillows. He put them on the mats and then went to the living room to grab the pillows from the couch and took them in for Tohru. He knew she would need to keep her ankle propped up.

Hari came back in and took the crutches to Tohru. Kyou followed the doctor into the room. She smiled at Kyou. Kyou smiled back and walked over to her. "I've laid some mats in the extra room down here for you." He said gently stroking her cheek, forgetting that Hatori was in the room.

Hari cleared his throat to remind them of his presence. He then took the crutches over to Tohru. Kyou and Hari both helped Tohru up and get to her crutches. Hari told Tohru how to use the crutches correctly and then had her do it. She used them and Kyou opened the door for her. He helped her get to the extra room and to her mat. _She looks tired._ Kyou thought.

Once Tohru was sitting down on the mat, Kyou slapped himself on the forehead. "Crap." He said, just now realizing he had forgotten something.

Tohru looked at him confused. "What is it, Kyou?" She asked.

"I forgot to get your pajamas." He said.

Just then Kagura came in with some yellow cloth in her arms. "I thought you might want these." She said handing Tohru her pjs.

Kyou headed for the door. I'll step out while you get changed. He said leaving the room and closing the door on his way out.

"How is she doing?" Yuki asked looking at the stupid cat.

"She's doing fine. Hari gave her something for the pain and it's making her pretty tired." He said not looking at the rat he hated so much.

Yuki nodded and picked up a book to read. Kagura came out of the room. "Tohru's dressed now." She said. "And I'm going to leave with Hari."

Everyone nodded and told Kagura good night. Kyou headed in to the spare room. He saw Tohru laying back on the mat sound asleep already. He pulled the blankets over her and then went to lay down on his own mat. He laid down facing her and watching her sleep. He looked at her beautiful face and fell asleep dreaming about Tohru.


	18. Chapter 18

In just another week school would be starting. Shigure had gone in to the school to register the three teens in his care. He also picked up their schedules and paid for their books. The only bad thing was he had to be up before Tohru to do this. _If she knew I was paying for her books, she'd refuse me and hand me her own money._ Shigure thought as he handed the school treasurer the money.

On his way back to the house he decided to stop by Aya's place for a visit. "Long time no see." Came the familiar feminine voice of Mine.

"Hello my lady." Shigure greeted and bent on one knee and took her hand and kissed the air above it three times.

She laughed at him and smacked his hand away playfully.

"Oh! I have been rejected!" Shigure said dramatically as he pulled his arm over his forehead and pretended to be faint.

Mine laughed at him and just then Aya entered the room. "She may have rejected you, but I never could." He said dramatically.

"I knew you never would. You will always love me just as I will always love you." Shigure said mimicing Aya.

Mine just laughed and rolled her eyes. She walked into the other room and then came out with a tray of tea and finger sandwhiches. Today she was wearing a school girl outfit, a red plaid skirt, a white button up shirt with a black blazer, and knee-high white socks. She wore glasses and her hair in cute pig-tails.

"Even though you have rejected me, I will have some tea and tell you that you are looking lovely as always, Mine." Shigure said taking a seat and picking up a cup of tea.

"Thank you for your kindness." She said with a bow and then broke out into giggles. "Were you looking for a dress today? Perhaps a new kimono?"

"Well I was looking for something, but not for myself." Shigure answered.

Aya looked at him, "For Tohru? Oh I knew you loved high school girls, but I never thought you'd actually try it. Good for you." Aya said in his teasing tone.

"It is for Tohru, but alas I am afraid I am no longer in the running for her affections." Shigure said melodramatically.

"What do you mean? Is she dating my brother? Oh please tell me she and Yuki have found a little romance.

"No." Shigure answered. "She has chosen to be with Kyou."

Aya's eyes widened. "You mean...he has opened his heart to her? Has she seen...?"

"Yes he has and yes she has." Shigure answered.

"Are you hoping she'll change her mind?" Aya asked his teasing back.

"Oh no. She broke her ankle last week and I wanted to get her a get well present."

"The princess has been hurt?" Aya practically screamed. "This is unspeakable! You will bring home two dresses one from you and one from me!"

"I know the exact dresses you should give her!" Mine said brightly and then ran from the room. A few moments later she came back with the dresses.

"Those will be perfect Mine! You have the best taste in clothes!" Aya said.

"Those will be wonderful." Shigure said smiling.

Shigure stayed and talked for a while longer. Mine had put the dresses in pink boxes and tied them up with yellow ribbons. Shigure took the boxes and left for home.

Tohru woke up in the spare room surrounded by flowers. There were purple tulips, white lilies, wild flowers, roses of every color, and pink daisies. Kyou was walking in the room carrying another vase full of flowers. He looked over to see Tohru sitting up.

"Good morning." She said smiling.

"Good morning." He said bending down and kissing her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." She said. "It hurts less and less everyday."

Just then Kagura burst through the door. "Hey Tohru!" She said smiling.

Kyou grumbled under his breath. Kyou was glad Kagura wasn't coming after him anymore, but he still wasn't too fond of seeing her. She had been over everyday since Tohru broke her ankle and even though Kyou would never admit it, but he was glad for her help. She was able to help Tohru get dressed and and bathe, all the things the guys couldn't help her with. And if Tohru would allow it, Kagura would help her up the stairs and into her own room, but Tohru said she liked sleeping downstairs.

"I'll leave so you can get dressed." Kyou said bending down to kiss Tohru again and with that he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Kagura picked up Tohru's jean skirt and a light green shirt. She helped Tohru get dressed. She then picked up a brush and took a seat behind Tohru and began brushing her hair. She then picked up Tohru's hair ribbins and pulled her hair back on the sides the way Tohru usually wore it. This had become their routine since the accident. The two girls were becoming best friends, sisters even. Kagura helped Tohru up and onto her crutches.

The two came from the room and went to the living room. Tohru sat down on the couch and then Kyou sat a little table in front of her with a plate of food on it. Tohru sniffed the bowl, _Yum Miso soup._ She thought smiling as she picked up the spoon. Kyou had taken care of the cooking while Tohru was unable to stand. Kagura had been doing all the cleaning. Tohru felt blessed to have them taking care of her.

She finished off the soup quickly and Kagura took the bowl to do the dishes. Kyou sat down beside Tohru. He kissed Tohru's cheek and then pulled something out of his pocket and bent over her cast.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

Kyou sat back up and just pointed to Tohru's cast.

Tohru looked down and saw that he had written something on her cast in red marker. She looked closer and saw that it was a heart and then his name. She smiled up at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

Just then Shigure came in the door. "I went to the school and signed you all up and got yur schedules." He said in a sing-song voice.

"I need to go to the school and get mine and pay for my books!" Tohru said grabbing for her crutches.

"Not to worry, it is all taken care of my sweet little flower." Shigure said leaning down to look at Tohru.

"What?" Tohru asked confused.

Shigure handed her her schedule. "I took care of it all this morning." He told her smiling.

"You paid for my books?" She asked.

"Of course, you are a school-aged child living in my care. Besides you take such good care of me with your wonderful food all the time, it was the least I could do." He sang.

"Let me pay you back." She said.

"Nope."

"But it's just too much. I couldn't accept such a generous offer. Letting me stay here is more than enough. I coul..."

Kyou interupted her with a kiss. "Will you for once just accept a gift?" He said slightly agitated, slightly teasing.

"Well...okay." Tohru said.

"Well if you are going to accept gifts, then here is a get well gift from me and another from Aya!" Shigure sang.

"Oh, but..."

This time Shigure cut her off. "You know if you rejected these gifts Aya and i would be very offended. Aya would be more offended than I would though." Shigure knew what would get Tohru. She never wanted to impose on anyone, but more than that she never wanted to offend anyone.

"Okay." She said taking the pink boxes from his hands.

She untied the ribbon of the first yellow and opened the pink box. Inside was a beautiful pale blue sundress and straw hat with a ribbon around the hat that matches the color of the dress. "I love it!" She said smiling. Then she opened up the other box and pulled out a pale yellow sweater dress with a white ribbon round the waist and white tights. "It's so beautiful! Thank you." She said smiling hugely. Then she got another thought, "I should call Aya and thank him too!"

Kyou got up. "I don't know why he deserves your thanks, but I'll go get you the phone." He came back in with the cordless and handed it to Tohru. she dialed the number and soon Aya answered.

"Shigure is that you? I've missed you terribly." He said.

"No, It's Tohru."

"Oh, Tohru it's so wonderful to hear from you! How did you like the dresses?"

"I love them and I just wanted to thank you. It was very generous of you." She said brightly.

"I'm glad you like them. Mine will be so glad to hear. She picked them out. She has impeccable taste. I heard you broke your ankle. How are you feeling fair princess? Are the boys treating you well?"

"I'm feeling fine. They are being just wonderful to me." she said smiling.

They talked for a few more minutes and then Aya had to go and take care of a customer.

Tohru hung up the phone and decided to look at her schedule. Kyou pulled his out as well and they had the same classes. It worked out perfectly.

The rest of the week was spent trying to enjoy what was left of the summer despite the cast. Tohru and Kyou spent as much time together as they could. Kagura kept coming over to help Tohru. Yuki spent the days at the student council meetings and Shigure spent the time writing his "masterpiece" as he called it.


	19. Chapter 19

Tohru woke up Monday morning. It was time to start back at school. Normally she would have been happy to start school, but she wasn't looking forward to trying to get around the building on her crutches. She sat up just in time for the door to open and Kagura to step inside. "I'm here to help you get ready for school." She said brightly greeting Tohru, as she stood concealing something behind her back and the door.

"Good morning." Tohru greeted and strained to see what Kagura was hiding.

Kagura shut the door quickly and then started helping Tohru get dressed and brush her hair. She then helped Tohru up and Tohru started to reach for her crutches, but Kagura stopped her. "I have something waiting for you outside the door." Kagura told her, "Hari sent it with me." Kagura then opened the door and right in front of it was a wheel chair.

Tohru smiled brightly as Kagura helped her to it. "Everyone thought it might be easier for you to get around school in this rather than on those crutches."

"It will be thank you." She said gratefully.

Kagura pushed Tohru into the dining room and helped her sit at the table. Kyou came in and brought breakfast. He sat the plate of eggs and bacon in front of Tohru and kissed the top of her head. She looked up and smiled at him. How he loved that goofey grin of her's. Kyou went back into the kitchen and got the food ready for everyone else.

Yuki and Shigure came down and sat to eat their breakfast. "So are you guys excited for your first day of your last year of school?" Shigure asked.

"Heck yes!" Kyou siad ready to be away from the crazy girls at that school.

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with the stupid cat." Yuki said ready to get away from the crazy fan girls.

"I'll be glad to be done and keep my promise to my mom, but I'll miss everyone." Tohru said.

The boys looked amused. _That's just like Tohru, always so nice._ Shigure thought.

_Miss Honda, is very special. Only she could say something like that._ Yuki thought.

_I can't believe she can say that! I mean those stupid Yuki Fan girls and many others have bullied her! How can she say she'd miss them?_ Kyou thought.

Everyone finished their breakfast and Kagura took the dishes to the kitchen. she came back out of the kitchen to tell everyone bye. She hugged Tohru and then waved bye.

Kyou pushed Tohru to school and carried her back pack, even though she said she could hold it in her lap.

When they reached the school, Yuki had to leave them and head to the rest of the student council. He had so much to do.

"Hey Orange Top! Where's Tohru?" came U-o's voice from behind them in the hall. She and Hana soon caught up to them and looked to see Tohru in the wheel chair and her leg in the cast.

"Oh, what happened, Tohru? WHo hurt our sweet little Tohru?" Hana asked.

"Yeah, tell us and we'll hunt them down and make them pay." U-o said.

Tohru looked up at them and waved her hands. "Oh no! It wasn't like that! I was visiting Mom and I got scared and tripped on a tree root and broke my ankle."

"Oh." The two said instantly calming.

"I hope you guys have been taking good care of her." Hana said looking at Kyou.

"Yeah, cause if not..." U-o said making a fist at Kyou.

Kyou just glared at her. _As if I'd just make her cook and clean like this?_

"Kyou's been doing a wonderful job taking care of me." Tohru said smiling.

"What about the prince and Shigure?" U-o asked.

"Yuki has had a lot of student council meetings and Shigure's been working a lot." She said.

"I'll go put your stuff in the classroom. I'll be right back." Kyou said and without thinking about it, he bent down and kissed Tohru on the cheek.

Before anyone knew what was happening, U-o punched Kyou in the face and sent him flying on the ground. "What'd you do that for, Yanki?" He said glarung at her.

"Whoever said it was okay for you to kiss Tohru?" She said glaring back.

"I did." Tohru interupted.

U-o and Hana turned to look at Tohru. Their faces obviously surprised. "What do you mean?" Hana asked.

"Kyou and I are dating." She said her cheeks reddening.

U-o and Hana were both stunned into silence. _So...Orange Top...is who she was talking about...before?_ U-o thought.

Before her friends could say anything, the bell rang signaling the beginning of the day and of the year. Kyou got up and wheeled Tohru into the classroom. He took her to a seat and then took the seat next to her. U-o and Hana filed in after them and took seats on the other side of Tohru.

Once the teacher began talking, U-o had a piece of paper out and scribbling on it. She folded it and passed it over to Tohru. Tohru unfolded it and began reading.

Was Orange Top the guy you were talking about before? Your crush I mean? and when did you guys become a couple and how and who made the first move?

Tohru sighed and pulled out a pencil and began writing her reply.

Yes, I was talking about Kyou. We've been dating for a few weeks and he took me to the roof and told me how he felt and I kissed him. Then we went on a date and we;ve been together ever since.

Tohru then foled the note back up and handed it back to U-o. U-o read the reply and handed it to Hana. Hana read it and then began writing on it. She then passed it to U-o who then passed it to Tohru.

I want all the details. You must tell us at lunch and we must talk with Kyou. I want to make sure his intentions are honorable.

Tohru sighed. She loved her friends and she was glad they cared about her so much, but she knew Kyou really cared about her. This was going to be a long day.

Kyou looked over at Tohru and gave her a smile. She smiled back. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad.

The next few classes went by slowly. Tohru wanted to get her friends' questions out of the way. She wasn't ready for what they were going to put poor Kyou through though. She'd never had a boyfriend before and she knows how protective U-o and Hana are of her.

After what felt like forever it was lunch time. Kyou wheeled Tohru to the lunch room and then left her at the table to get lunch for the both of them. U-o and Hana sat down across the table from Tohru.

"What happened?" Hana asked.

"Well, I'd just woken up from a dream that felt so real and then I went downstairs and Kyou was down their and then he took me to the roof and told me how he felt and then I kissed him." She answered.

"Well, what did he say when he told you his feelings for you?" U-o asked.

"He told me how he cared about me and he said that he didn't deserve me and I interupted him with a kiss and told him that I cared for him, too." Tohru answered.

"How long have you two been together?" Hana asked.

"A few weeks." Tohru answered.

"What happened with that girl that attacked him on Valentine's day last year? What was her name?" U-o asked.

"Kagura." Hana said.

"Yeah, that's it what about her? She said they were getting married." U-o said remembering.

"She always liked him, but he never felt the same way about her." Tohru answered. "She's actually been really nice. She's been helping take care of me and doing my chores around the house."

"Really?" U-o asked.

"Yeah." Tohru said.

Kyou came out of the lunch line just then with two steaming bowls of soup. He sat one bowl in front of Tohru and the other in front of the seat next to her for himself and then sat down.

Just before U-o and Hana could launch into questioning Kyou, Yuki came in followed by Haru and Momiji. The three Sohmas came in and sat at the table.

"Hey Tohru." Momiji greeted brightly. "How's your ankle?"

"It's getting better." Tohru said smiling. "How's your classes been so far?"

"Great!" Momiji said smiling. "I'm just glad Yuki's the new student council president and won't yell at me for wearing a girl's uniform." Momiji said remembering last year.

Tohru smiled. "That's good news." She said.

The friends sat for the rest of lunch eating and talking. When the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, Kyou wheeled Tohru to their next class. It was biology. When they entered the room, Kyou took Tohru to the lab table closet to the door. U-o, Hana, and Yuki all filed in and took the tables beside and behind Kyou and Tohru.

There was an odd number of students in the class and thanks to the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls, the other girls in the class were afraid to go near Yuki, so he sat alone. Then the teacher, Mr. Tanaka came in followed by a girl in a uniform.

"Hello class, I would like you all to meet Suki Naka. She is a new student here and I would hope that you all give her a warm welcome." He said.

Everyone smiled politely at Suki.

"Why don't you take the empty seat next to Yuki Sohma." Mr. Tanaka said pointing to the seat.

Suki nodded and walked over to the empty seat. Yuki smiled at her as she took the seat. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. She had waist-length dark brown hair and ice-blue eyes. She took the seat and sat there quietly.

"Hello Miss Naka, my name is Yuki Sohma." Yuki said offering his hand.

"Hello Mr. Sohma, it's very nice to meet you." She said smiling and taking his hand.

The classroom phone rang and Mr. Tanaka answered. When he hung up the phone, he stood up and spoke to the class, "Excuse me, but I have to leave for a few minutes." He then walked out the door, which left the class all alone.

Yuki decided that he would introduce Miss Naka to the others. "Miss Naka, I would like to introduce you to some people."

"I would like that." She said.

Yuki then stood up knowing that it would be hard for Tohru to turn around. He motioned for Suki to follow him and she did. He took her to the front of Tohru and Kyou's table. "This is Miss Honda."

"Hi, and you can just call me Tohru." She said reaching her hand out.

"Hi, Tohru." She said smiling and grasping Tohru's offered hand.

"This is my cousin, Kyou." Yuki said not even looking in the direction of the orange-haired boy.

"Hi." Kyou said not interested in shaking her hand.

"Is that your natural hair color?" she asked. Then she turned to Yuki, "Is your hair color natural?"

Tohru giggled. "It's natural for both of them, but wait till you meet Hatsaharu Sohma, if you want to see a real strange natural hair color."

Suki looked perplexed. "What could be a stranger natural hair color than orange or purple-gray?"

"You'll see." U-o said from her seat. "Hi I'm Arisa Uotani, but you can just call me U-o." She then offered her hand to Suki.

"It's very nice to meet you." she said.

Hana stood up and walked over. "Hello, I'm Hanajima Saki, but please call me Hana." She then shook hands with Suki.

"It's very nice to meet you, Hana." Suki said smiling warmly.

"You have fine electric signals." Hana said.

Suki looked confused. "What does she mean?"

"I'll explain later." Tohru said smiling.

Mr. Tanaka returned and began class. He handed out a paper with class rules and then another paper with lab safety rules and yet another paper containing a description of the class for the term. Tohru read over the course description and paled when she read about disection. She really didn't want to do that.

"I hope you all like where you are setting because these will be your seats for the term and the person you are setting next to will be your lab partner for the term as well." Mr. Tanaka announced to the class.

Then the bell rang and Kyou was up pushing Tohru to their next class, gym. It was also their last class and Kyou was glad. He couldn't wait to get home. He also wanted some alone time with Tohru, well if Kagura would stop hovering over Tohru long enough.

"Do you mind if I walk with you guys?" came the voice of Suki.

"Of course we don't mind." Tohru answered brightly. She thought Suki seemed really nice.

"Thanks, where are you guys headed?" Suki inquired.

"Gym." Tohru answered.

"Me too." Suki said smiling. "I'm glad I met you guys. It's nice to have somebody to talk to."

"I'm glad, too." Tohru said returning the smile.

The three of them entered the gym and went over to the coach. Tohru handed him the doctor's excuse note from Hari. The coach read it and looked at Tohru. "I still want you to dress out for gym." He said.

"Okay." Tohru said.

"I'll help you." Suki said offering to take the wheel chair from Kyou.

Kyou grunted and reluctantly gave Suki the wheel chair holding his precious Tohru. He then went over to the boys' locker room to change. Suki wheeled Tohru to the girls' locker room. They went inside and picked out a couple lockers next to each other. Suki helped Tohru get changed and then changed herself. Then they walked out of the locker room and into th gym.

The coach had Suki park Tohru next to the bleachers. He led the class in their warm up exercises and then made them run a few laps around the gym. He had Suki pushing Tohru around during her laps. Unfortunately for the two girls, the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls were in their class. A few times the fan girls tried to trip Suki, but she was on to them and was able to dodge their attacks. Tohru didn't notice this happening.

Coach blew the whistle and sent the kids to the locker rooms to shower and change. suki helped Tohru change since she really didn't need a shower, and then went to take a shower. Tohru waited patiently for Suki to return.

"Hey Tohru." came the snotty voice of the new presidemt of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, Mianmi. "I saw you sitting at lunch with Prince Yuki, and you know you can't do that. You aren't a member of the Fan Club."

"Yuki and I are just friends. I'm dating Kyou." Tohru said trying to get her and the other two girls with her to realize she and Yuki were just friends.

"Well, I don't believe you. Besides even if you are just friends with the Prince, we can't have that." Then she pushed went behind Tohru's wheel chair and dumped Tohru out of it and onto the floor. She laughed cruelly and then walked away with the other girls.

Tohru looked around for something to pull herself up and she couldn't find anything. She crawled over to her chair and sat it up, then she tried pulling herself up into it, but she couldn't. It kept moving away from her and she would fall back to the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" Came Suki's sweet voice, "What happened to you?" She rushed over to help Tohru back into her chair.

"It was nothing." Tohru said.

"What happened?" Suki said bending down in front of Tohru so she could look at her. "It wasn't nothing. What happened?" Her voice becoming stern and...protective.

"The Prince Yuki Fan Club Girls pushed me over." Tohru admitted.

"Those girls have got to stop." Suki said.

"Have you already had a run-in with them?" Tohru asked.

"Yeah, when I first came in they explained their "rules" to me. I ignored them and I do not care. I'll be friends with and talk to whomever I wish adn so should everyone." Suki replied. "I really don't understand why they did this to you. I mean aren't you dating the guy with the orange hair?"

Tohru blushed and nodded.

"He seems very grumpy and angry all the time. He doesn't talk much." Suki observed.

"That's just the way he is, but he has his moments." She said.

"I bet he has a lot of those "moments" for you." Suki said knowingly.

"Yeah, he's been really sweet to me and takes good care of me." Tohru said.

"Been coming over to your house a lot?"

"Uhm...that's complicated. He and Yuki live with their older cousin Shigure and I live with them too. I'm their housekeeper." Tohru replied whispering the last part. She knew the fan girls would kill her of they knew she lived with Yuki.

"Really? What about your parents?" Suki asked.

"They're dead." Tohru said simply.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot. I never know how to keep my mouth shut!" Suki scolded herself and then pulled Tohru into a hug.

"It's okay." Tohru said. "I never really knew my father, but I did get to know my mother and I'm very lucky to have had the time I did have with her. I'm lucky now, too. I have wonderful friends, I live in a beautiful house, with nice people, and I have the best boyfriend." Tohru said.

Suki pulled away from Tohru and looked at her in wonder. How could someone who had lost their parents be so grateful and so sweet. _I'm going to really like Tohru._ Suki thought to herself. And once again Tohru's sweetness and open caring personality had won her another friend.


	20. Chapter 20

Suki wheeled Tohru out of the locker room and to Kyou. Kyou looked Tohru over and could see some scrapes and bruises forming on her knees. "What happened?"

Then the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls walked by laughing. "How's the floor doing Tohru?" Minami asked.

Kyou glared at the girls ready to strike as his question was answered. Before Kyou could react Minami was sent flying across the gym floor. Suki stood brushing her knuckles. she glared at the other girls as if to say, "I dare you." They ran to their new president and when the bell rang they ran out the door as quick as they could.

Tohru and Kyou both stared at Suki in amazement. Kyou hadn't been able to hit the girls because he had mixed feeling about hitting girls even if they were evil. He was glad Suki was around to help Tohru when he couldn't. "Shouldn't we all be heading to our homes?" Suki said looking as if nothing had happened.

"Uhm...yeah." Kyou said as he started wheeling Tohru to the door.

Suki followed after them. "Hey Tohru!" came the cheerful voice of Momiji.

"Hey." She said smiling back at the younger boy.

Momiji raced up to her followed by Haru and Yuki. "Haru and I are coming over today."

Kyou sighed internally. _So much for my alone time with Tohru._ Kyou thought. _Momiji is so annoying!_

"Yeah, 'cause I wanna continue our fight and kick your butt, Kyou." Haru said putting up his fists.

"Shut up you little brat." Kyou snapped.

"Looks like having a girlfriend has made you soft." Haru said.

_Black Haru._ Tohru thought with a sigh.

Kyou was suddenly by Haru with his arm around his neck and smaching his fist grinding into Haru's head. "You stupid little brat you shut up!"

"Who is this guy?" Suki asked.

Suddenly Haru pulled away from Kyou's grasp and headed over to Suki. "You're pretty cute. I guess I could tell you who I am and maybe you could see me later sometime..." He was suddenly cut thump on the head from Yuki and Kyou both.

"Stupid Black Haru." They said in unison.

"He's another one of our cousins, Hatsaharu Sohma." Yuki said politely.

"I see what you mean by strange natural hair color." Suki said to Tohru. "I find it hard to believe though."

Haru was back up. "i can always show you..." and he was knocked down again by Yuki and Kyou.

"And I'm Momiji Sohma." said the younger biy in girl's clothes.

"Hi, I'm Suki Naka. Did you come over here from the elementary school?" She asked.

"Nope, I'm in my second year of high school." Momiji answered brightly.

Suki blinked in surprise. "You must be really inteligent to skip all those grades." She said.

Momiji laughed. "Nope, but thank you for the compliment."

"You mean you really are...?"

"Yup!" Momiji replied broghtly.

Suki looked utterly confused.

"Don't feel bad," Tohru said, "I was confused, too."

Suki smiled at Tohru and then looked at the Sohmas. "So does the Sohma family like own this school or something?" she asked.

"No, why do you ask?" Yuki replied.

"I was just wondering since there are so many of you guys." she said.

"Well we are it. You won't meet anymore Sohmas." Momiji said. "At least in the high school."

"Oh." She said.

The group of friends walked outside. Suki parted ways with them and headed to her own house. The Sohmas and Tohru headed back to Shigure's house. Thank goodness the only homework was to have your parent or guardian sign a few papers.

Tohru looked down at her cast. U-o and Hana had signed it along with Suki. As she looked down at Suki's siganture she couldn't help but think of how Suki had defended her and they had only met today. _Why did she do that? Why did she defend me? Why did she hug me in the locker room?_ Tohru thought. She didn't mind it, but she still wondered why.

"Is something wrong Tohru? Is your ankle bothering you?" Kyou asked his voice filled with concern.

"No, no. I'm fine. I was just thinking." She answered looking up at her boyfriend.

"About what?" He asked.

"About Suki and trying to figure out why she did what she did." She said.

"What did she do?" Yuki asked.

"Sent the president of your fan club flying across the gym floor." Kyou answered smiling.

"Really?" Yuki asked his eyes widening.

"Yeah," Tohru said, "she was defending me."

"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.

"Those stupid girls were picking on Tohru. They knocked her out of her chair in the locker room." Kyou said angrilly. He really hated those girls.

Yuki was stunned into speechlessness. He knew those girls didn't like Tohru because she was friends with him, but he couldn't believe that they would go this far and yet there were the scrapes and bruises forming on her hands and knees to prove it. _Why do they do that? Why are they so obsessed with me? Why do they have to take things so far?_ Yuki thought to himself. _I need to do something about this._

They walked the rest of the way home in silence each lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the house, Shigure greeted them brightly. "Hello kids! How was your first day back? Oh and look who came to visit!"

"Hello everyone." Came the familiar melodramatic voice.

"What is he doing here?" Yuki asked glaring at his brother.

"Now, now Yuki. Is that any way to greet you older brother, who cam all this way just to see you?" Aya asked in his usual over dramatized voice.

"I really don't care." Yuki said taking off his shoes and heading up to his room. He slammed his door shut.

"Well that was harsh. How will I ever get over the rejection of my only brother?" Aya said putting his hand over his forehead dramatically. Then he looked over at Tohru. "I'll just have to visit with the fair princess." Aya then walked over to Tohru and bent down in front of her and took her hand in his and kissed it. "How are you feeling fair princess? Are they treating you well? Perhaps I should take you away from here for a little while?"

Tohru couldn't speak. Her cheeks flushed as she tried to think of something to say. Just the Kagura rushed out. "Oh no you don't!" She said rushing to push aya away from Tohru. "Tohru isn't going anywhere with anyone tonight except Kyou. They have a date tonight and I am helping Tohru get ready for it." she then took Tohru away from Kyou and headed for the room Tohru had been staying in.

Everyone blinked in surprise. Once the shock wore off and a happiness took over, Kyou headed up to his room to change. For once in his life, he was grateful for Kagura. He was actually gonna get some alone time with his girlfriend tonight. He changed into a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved black, black, button-up shirt. He walked down the stairs and waited patiently for Kagura to bring Tohru out.

_Meabwhile Tohru and Kagura..._

"I thought you and Kyou could use some alone time and I figured this was the only way to get it for you guys." Kagura told Tohru as she rummaged through her clothes. She pulled out the blue sun dress from Aya's shop. "You should definately wear this. It will make Aya happy and you will look adorable."

Tohru blushed and nodded. "okay."

Kagura helped Tohru change and the pulled the brush out and took Tohru's hair down and brushed it out. "Hmm." kagura said looking at Tohru.

"What?" Tohru asked her face reddening.

"I was just thinking perhaps we should leave your hair down. It looks so beautiful. yes we leave it down." She said and then put the brush down. She then gave Tohru a once over and smiled. "Perfect." she said.

She then wheeled Tohru out of the room and to Kyou. Kyou stared in amazement at Tohru. Before Kyou could say anything, Aya burst in and sang "Oh my goodness! what a vision of loveliness! Oh Mine will be so happy to know how beautiful you look in that dress!"

Tohru blushed and Kyou glared. _I'm the only one who can make her blush!_ He thought angrilly. _She's my vision of loveliness!_

Tohru looked over at Kyou and could practically see the steam coming out of his ears as Aya went on and on. She reached over and touched her hand to his. He instantly calmed and relaxed at her touch. All his anger seemed to diappear with her gentleness.

"We must be going." Kyou said interupting his blathering cousin. He took Tohru and wheeled her out of the house.

Kagura followed. "If you go down that path and go all the way to the river there is a surprise waiting for you." Kagura whispered to them.

"Thank you Kagura." Tohru said.

"You bet ya." Kagura said smiling brightly.

Kyou and Tohru walked off down the trail and right where Kagura had told them to go. When they got to the river they found a picnic waiting for them. There was a blanket and a basket setting out. In the basket was a big dinner and candles and matches. Kyou pulled out the candles and matches and lit them up. He then pulled out the food and plates. He then helped Tohru out of her wheel chair and onto the blanket.

"You look really beautiful." Kyou said still holding Tohru's hands.

Tohru blushed. She leaned closer to him and their lips met in a kiss. When they pulled apart they leaned their foreheads against each other. They sat their staring into each other's eyes for the longest time. They were content to be like that and for taht little bit of time it was like they were the only two people in the world. They could forget about everything and everyone else and being like that they almost forgot about the curse.

_Back at the house..._

A knock on the door interupted the light conversation between Shigure and Aya. Kagura left the laundry room and went to open the door. "Hello Kagura, I'm here to check on Tohru." came the calm familiar voice.

"She and Kyou went out on a date, but they should be back before too long." Kagura answered. "You can come in and wait if you'd like."

"Thank you."

Shigure and Aya walked to the door. "Hari!" they greeted.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here." Hari said looking at Aya.

"i decided to visit my brother and see how his first day back at school went, but alas he doesn't want to see me." Aya said his face looking dramatically sad.

"I can only imagine why." Hari mumbled sarcastically.

The three went into the living room to sit down and talk and wait for Tohru and Kyou to return. Kagura bustled about the house taking care of Tohru's chores. "How has Kagura been taking Kyou and Tohru?" Hari asked knowing how obsessed she had been with Kyou.

"She's been taking it very well." Shigure answered. "She didn't take it so well at first and that had had Tohru upset because she cares about everyone and their feelings. That and she genuinely likes Kagura." Shigure said.

"Really?" Hari said more astounded by Kagura's attitude rather than Tohru's. he had come to know that Tohru is the type of person who put everyone else before herself.

"Yes, and ever since the accident, Kagura has been helping Tohru." Shigure spoke. "She has been doing Tohru's chores and has been helping Tohru with things that would be inappropriate for the men of this house to help her with. Of course I wouldn't mind helping her with those things..." Shigure was suddenly interupted by Yuki's fist hitting him hard in the head.

"How dare you talk about Miss Honda that way, you sick pervert." Yuki said and then walked back up to his room.

Hatori smiled. He enjoyed seeing Yuki hit Shigure.

"Really if anyone here is the pervert it's you Hari." Aya said slyly.

Hari rolled his eyes, but decided to humor Aya anyway. "And why would that be?" He asked in a flat tone.

"Because you made a special trip all the way over here to "check up on her." I mean how much more obvious could you be? I'm sure you could steal her away from that cat. You are a charming older man." Aya said and babbled on some more.

Hari ignored Aya. He went to his happy place. In his mind he went back to his memories. He went back to when he was the happiest man on earth, when he was with Kana. He thought about how her hand had felt in his and about how her smile seemed to brighten even the darkest of days. He remembered how she was so bright and happy; how happy she made him.

"Oh, I can see you are thinking about spending alone time with Tohru." Aya said teasing Hari even further.

"I think that's enough." Hatori said to Aya.

Aya instantly stopped.

Hari was glad he was able to stop Aya's taunting. He was glad Aya listened to him because if he listened to Shigure nothing would ever stop. "So Kagura has been very helpful?" He asked returning to this subject.

"Yes and she and Tohru have grown very close. I would say they are like sisters." Shigure replied.

"I just find that hard to believe. Kagura has been bent on marrying Kyou for the longest time." Hari said.

Kagura came thindering into the room. "I would like to make it clear to you that I realized that Kyou has never loved me back and that he really belongs with Tohru." She said to Hatori.

"How do you know that?" he asked her.

"I've seen the way he looks at Tohru. He never looked at me that way and he never will. I also saw how much he has changed and I know that it's because of Tohru." Kagura answered her voice softening. "Tohru also makes him happy and he is just so different and it's a good different and I know it's because of Tohru."

All three of the men looked at her. They were all amazed at this change in Kagura. She really did see it this way. She had changed and just like the changes that had happened to them, they all knew it was because of Tohru. She was getting to each and every one of the Sohmas. Hopefully she could get to Akito as well, when the time came.

_Back on Kyou and Tohru's date..._

They had finished eating the dinner Kagura had prepared for them. Tohru couldn't help but think of how nice it was of Kagura to do thsi for them. Ever since Tohru had broken her ankle, she and Kyou hadn't had much alone time together.

They now laid back on the blanket looking up at the stars. "The stars sparkle and look so beautiful." Tohru said.

Kyou looked over at her. "All of the stars in the sky don't sparkle as much as your eyes, nor are they as beautiful."

Tohru turned her head away from Kyou to hide her blush.

Kyou grinned. "Hey don't hide that beautiful face from me." He said reaching over and pulling her face back to face his. Her face was an even deeper shade of red. Kyou's grin widened. She looked so beautiful. He pulled her face close to his and then gently pressed his lips to her's.

Tohru relaxed into the kiss. She loved the feel of his lips on her's. She loved the way his hand felt on her face. She loved the way he looked at her and even though she didn't realize it just yet, Tohru Honda was falling in love with Kyou Sohma.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hey guys. I would like to thank you for all the reviews. Please keep reading and reviewing. **

Kyou reluctantly looked away from Tohru's beautiful face and turned to his watch. His eyes widened when he saw the time; it was almost midnight. Sure during the summer they'd stayed out later, but school was back in session, he couldn't keep her up that late!

"What's wrong, Kyou?" Tohru asked her voice concerned.

"It's almost midnight. We should be getting back to the house." Kyou said a harsh edge in his voice.

Tohru looked at him wide-eyed then she looked down at the blankey beneath them. Kyou looked at her. He reached his hand over and tucked it under her chin and pulled her face up so he could look at her. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked his voice softening instantly.

"I...I don't really want to go." She answered him.

Kyou smiled. "You know, I don't really want to either, but you need sleep." He told her stroking her cheek delicately.

His soft touch once again brought a tint of red to her cheeks. He leaned over and kissed her red cheek. Before he realized what was going on, Tohru moved and her lips were on his. He cupped her face in one hand and then ran the fingers of his other hand, through her hand. Tohru moved her hands to run her fingers through Kyou's hair.

_She is so beautiful and wonderful. I am so lucky to be with her._ Kyou thought as they continued their kiss.

_He is so handsome and amazing. I am so lucky to be with him._ Tohru thought as the kiss deepened.

They broke apart and looked into each other's eyes breathless from the intense kiss. Once they caught their breath, they both realized that they needed to go home. Kyou helped Tohru up off of the blanket and into her chair. He then blew out the candles and packed everything up into the picnic basket. They then headed home.

Once inside the house, they were greeted by the sing-song voice of Shigure, "Well you two were out late for a school night. I hope you kids weren't up to anything, you shouldn't be up to."

They came into the room, Tohru blushing and Kyou glaring. Before either of them could say anything, Aya cut in, "My, my, it looks like you two were up to something. You hair is messed up."

Tohru blushed a deeper red and instantly moved her hands to smoothe her hair. Kyou just glared at the snake and the dog.

"That's enough from the both of you." came the voice of reason, a.k.a Hatori.

"Oh, hello Hatori." Tohru said her face still red.

"Hello Tohru." He said in his usual calm tone. "I came to check on your ankle."

"Oh, right." She said almost forgetting about her ankle.

Hatori took Tohru into the other room and examined her ankle again. "Everything is healing just as it should. I'll come back in a few more weeks and we should be able to remove the cast." He told her.

"That's wonderful." Tohru said smiling.

Hatori looked at Tohru's bright smile and her sparkling eyes. As he did he was reminded of Kana and all that she had suffered. He sent up a silent prayer for things to work out for her and Kyou. He didn't want Tohru to suffer the way Kana had. Kana hadn't deserved it and neither did Tohru.

Hatori left taking Aya with him and Tohru went to bed that night happy and content. She'd had a pretty good day. She made a new friend, her ankle was healing the way it should, and she had the best boyfriend in the world. _I am the luckiest girl in the world._ she thought as she drifted off peacefully to sleep with a smile on her face.

Tohru wasn't the only one falling asleep with a smile on her face. Kyou was, too. He had the most beautiful girlfriend in the world. She had seen the monster that he was and yet she still chose him. _For once in my life somebody wants me. __**She**__ wants me._ Kyou thought as he drifted off to dream wonderful dreams of Tohru.

Even Yuki was happy as he drifted off to sleep. He couldn't help, but think about the beautiful Suki. She was so beautiful and friendly. He also liked that she wasn't afraid of his fan girls. He liked even more that she had stood up for Tohru. Tohru was like a sister to him and the fact that Suki had taken an instant liking to her, made her even more attractive to Yuki. _I wonder what she thinks of me._ Yuki thought to himself. _Maybe someday._ Yuki drifted off to sleep smiling and dreaming of not being cursed and living a normal life and being able to date Suki.


	22. Chapter 22

The next few weeks passed uneventfully. Soon it was time for Hatori to return to check on Tohru's ankle. He examined her ankle and it was healed. "We can removed you cast." He said reaching into his bag and pulling out the "cast remvoer" as Momiji called it.

"That thing looks really sharp." Momiji said. "Are you sure you have to use that?"

"If I don't Tohru will be stuck in this cast forever." Hari said stifling a smile.

"I'll be fine, Momiji. I'm sure Hatori has done this lots of times." Tohru said reassuringly.

"Yes he has, that's how I got this scar on my left arm." Shigure said jokingly. "I was his first."

"Yes well I did that on purpose for you." Hari said smiling.

Tohru giggled. Shigure and Hatori made her smile.

Hatori cut the cast off quickly and without hurting Tohru. "Okay, now slowly try and stand up. You may feel a bit wobbly since you haven't walked on it in six weeks."

Tohru nodded and slowly stood up from the chair. As soon as she put weight on she began to fall forward. Without thinking about it Hatori threw his arms out to catch her, which didn't work of course. He instantly turned into the seahorse. Tohru pushed herself up and instantly began freaking out just as she had the first time Hatori had transformed in front of her.

Shigure stood in the doorway laughing. He enjoyed seeing Hatori's zodiac form. It always made him laugh.

Almost as soon as he had transfored into the animal, he was turned back into a man. he stood right in front of Tohru and she turned red and covered her eyes. Hari was soon dressed and dusting off his clothes.

Kyou came in. "What's all the noise about?" He saw Tohru sitting on the ground her face as red as a beat and her eyes still covered. He walked over to her and started pulling her up off the ground. He was careful not to embrace her so that he wouldn't transform. "What happened?" He asked her pulling her hands from her face.

"She stood up, and fell, Hari tried to catch her and he transformed, then he transformed back." Momiji answered brightly.

"That explains why that darn dog is is laughing his butt off." Kyou said. he was still holding Tohru up.

"She needs to walk." Hatori said.

Kyou nodded and let Tohru support herself. He held onto her hand to steady her though. They walked out to the living room and Tohru was so happy to be able to walk. She was also happy not to have the cast on her leg.

"Sissy!" Kisa said getting up from the couch and running to Tohru. The young girl jumped into Tohru's arms. Tohru began falling backwards and Kyou instantly moved behind her to catch. Unfortunately, he transformed into the cute and cuddly (well cute yes, but cuddly, only for Tohru) orange cat.

"Oh, Kyou, I'm so sorry." Tohru said moving to get off of Kyou. She didn't want to squish him.

Shigure came in and he had just recovered from his laughing fit, but seeing Tohru and the Tiger girl getting up off of the little orange cat brought on a whole new one. Hatori followed and smiled a bit. It seems Tohru was transforming everyone today.

"I might as well join the fun, too." Momiji said running to Tohru and giving her a big hug.

Now Tohru had a cat and a rabbit. She couldn't help but to laugh. the little yellow rabbit jumped off of the top of her head. Suddenly both Kyou and Momoiji were standing in front of Tohru in their all-together. So for the second time that day Tohru found herself red-faced and covering her eyes.

Kyou and Momiji got dressed quickly and of course Kyou was red-faced. Momiji on the other hand was not shy at all. He was jumping around and smiling as if nothinghad happened.

Kyou walked over to Tohru and held his hand out for her. She took her hands from her face and reached out for Kyou's. He pulled her to her feet and then kissed her forehead. They walked over to the couch and took a seat, still holding hands.

Momiji broke out into a chorus of, "Kyou and Tohru sittin' in a tree..." Kyou instantly hit Momiji and told him, "Shut up you little brat!"

"Wah! Kyou hit me!" Momiji said as usual.

Tohru sighed and then laghed. Everything was getting back to normal around the house. She smiled and was happy and content.

Tohru walked to school the next day, holding hands with Kyou and smiling. She looked over at Yuki and her smile fell a little. He was all alone. He didn't have a hand to hold. She felt bad for him. He was like a brother to her and she just wanted him to be happy.

Just as Tohru's thoughts were trying to come up with someone she could fix Yuki up with, Suki came running up behind them. "Hey guys!" She shouted cheerfully.

They all turned around and waved. They stopped and waited for her to catch up. Suki came up to Tohru. "Hey, she can walk!" Suki declared smiling.

Tohru giggled. "Yeah, it's a new trick I learned."

"Glad that you've got that thing off you leg, but I am sad to see my easy gym days of running laps, while pushing you around are gone." Suki said smiling.

Tohru laughed.

"Good morning Miss Naka." Yuki said greeting her with a smile.

"Good morning to you, too, Yuki. And how many times must I tell you, calle me Suki?" She said smiling back at him.

Yuki just smiled.

"Don't feel bad, Suki." Tohru said. "We've been living in the same house for almost two years and he still calls me Miss Honda."

The two girls giggled. the rest of the walk was spent in comfortable silience. Well comfortable for Tohru and Kyou that is.

Upon entering the school, the group was greeted by the other Hana, U-o, and the other Sohmas. "I see you got that thing off you leg." U-o said smiling at Tohru, who was still holding hands with Kyou.

They all stood in the hall and talked until the bell rang. The hours before lunch passed uneventfully. The bell rang and they all headed for their usual table. Suki now sat with the group as well.

"I'll go and grab our lunch." Kyou said, getting up from the table and kissing Tohru on top of the head.

"Okay." she said smiling brightly at him.

Kyou couldn't help, but smile back. _Gosh, I love that smile. She's so beautiful._ Kyou thought to himself as he went to the lunch line.

As Tohru sat waiting for Kyou to come back, a couple of under-classmen were checking out the girls at the table. "I think I'll go up and ask that brunette out." One said to the other.

"I kinda like the long-haired blonde myself." The other said.

Before the girls knew it, the boys were sauntering up to their table. "Hello, gorgeous." one of the boys said taking a seat next to U-o.

"Wow, who knew this school had so many sexy women." The other said taking Kyou's seat next to Tohru.

Tohru just sat there confused.

"My name is Ri. This is my friend, Lee." The younger boy by Tohru said.

"So what names do you lovely ladies have?" Lee said looking at U-o, who looked annoyed.

"Buzz off." U-o replied.

"Now, now, we just think you ladies are the loveliest we have ever seen and we would like a double date with you, say this Saturday?" Lee said.

"No." U-o replied.

Tohru was trying to think of a polite way to say decline.

"What about you sweetness? You wanna go out...?" Ri was speaking to Tohru when he was suddenly pulled up from his chair. He was now staring into angry ruby eyes. "Hey man what's the problem? I saw her first."

"The problem is you are hitting on _my_ girlfriend." Kyou said angrilly.

"Oh, man! I am sorry! I...I...d...didn't know." Ri said panicing.

"It better not happen again." Kyou said.

"I...it w...won't." Ri replied.

"Good." Kyou said and then tossed the boy aside and took his seat next to Tohru.

"So I'll see you Saturday?" Lee asked looking at U-o.

U-o turned her head and glared at him. "Did you just see what he did to your friend?"

"Yeah." Lee answered, confusion coloring his tone.

"Well, if you don't leave in the next three seconds, I'm gonna do the same thing to you." She said.

Lee didn't believe her so he just sat there. Three seconds passed by and U-o stood up. She pulled Lee from his chair and then tossed him to the floor. She dusted off her hands and then sat back down to eat her lunch. "Nothing like getting rid of the trash." U-o said looking at the group. They all had a good laugh. Kyou laughed half-heartedly.

Tohru noticed and was about to say something, when the bell rang. they walked to class together holding hands, but Tohru could tell Kyou was off in thought somewhere. the rest of the day passed in this same way. They even walked home in the silence.

They all went to their rooms and put their things up. Tohru came downstairs and began making dinner. She decided to make Kyou's favorite, salmon. She also made some riceballs. Once dinner was ready Tohru called everyone into the dining room. Yuki and Shigure came in their noses leading the way.

Tohru looked worried when she didn't see Kyou. "You guys go ahead and eat. I'm going to get Kyou." She said.

"Okay." Yuki and Shigure said in unison and dove in.

Tohru picked up Kyou's plate and thought about checking in his room, but then she decided to go straight for the roof. Sure enough, Kyou was there, lying on his back and looking up at the night sky. Tohru climbed the rest of the way on the roof and walked over to her boyfriend. she sat down next to him and then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Kyou jumped slightly in surprise.

"I made you favorite." Tohru said holding out his plate.

Kyou sniffed at the plate and his mouth watered slightly. He took the plate and sat it down next to him.

"Aren't you hunry?' she asked looking worried.

"Not really." He answered.

"Kyou, what's wrong?" She asked,feeling some relief. She'd been wanting to ask that question all day.

"What make you think something's wrong?" He asked not ready to admit to what was bothering him.

"Well, ever since lunch, you've been acting kind of distant." She said. "You're here physically, but mentally you're off somewhere else." Then an idea hit her, that she hadn't thought of before. "You wanna break up with me, don't you?" She said tears welling up in her eyes.

Kyou's eyes shot open and he sat up instantly. "Of course not, Tohru." He told her. "Why would I want to break up with you? You're the best thing in my life."

Tohru looked up at Kyou, still on the brink of tears. "Then what is it?"

Kyou sighed. "I'm afraid that you'll wanna break up with me." He answered not looking at her.

Tohru blinked. "Why do you think that?" She asked.

Kyou let out another heavy sigh. "When I saw that guy hitting on you today, I realized all the things you could do with him, that you can't do with me."

Tohru blinked confused.

Kyou looked up at her. "He could hold you in his arms and I can't."

All was silent for a moment and then Tohru spoke. "Kyou Sohma." She said making his eyes go wide. "Don't you ever think for a minute that, just because I can't hug you without you turning into a cat, means that I'm going to want someone else. I could have had someone else, but I didn't want him. I wanted you. I still want you and only you and it will always be you."

Kyou blinked. _How could she want me? I'm just a monster and yet here she is telling me she wants me. No one has ever wanted me before. No one._ Kyou thought as tears threatened his eyes.

"Kyou?" Tohru said wondering what he was thinking.

Kyou couldn't think of words to describe what he was thinking and feeling. The only thing he could think of was to take action. He put his hands on Tohru's face and pulled her lips to his for a kiss filled with passion and...love? Yes love. Even though he didn't know it, Kyou Sohma was falling in love with Tohru Honda.


	23. Chapter 23

"He will see you two now." A man said opening a sliding door, for the young biys to enter.

The two boys entered the room of their master and bowed on the floor.

"Well, what have you two learned? Are the rumors true?" asked the cold unfeeling voice of their master.

"Yes master, they are together." one boy answered.

A sly smile crept across the master's face. "That will be all. Thank you Ri and Lee."

"We are here to serve you, Master." The boys said as they bowed and left.

The master was now alone. He began talking to himself. "So the little brat didn't get out while she could. I'll just have to teach her a lesson, but not yet. It must be in time." Then he broke out in evil laughter, as his plan unfolded. He would do whatever he could to break their bond. Akito Sohma was going to break the bond between Tohru Honda and Kyou Sohma.

**A/N: I apologize that it is so short, but I just think that this was better as a chapter by itself. I hope you guys continue to read and review. And thanks again for all the reviews you've already given me.**


	24. Chapter 24

The months passed uneventfully for the little gang. Tohru and Kyou were happy and content. Yuki was growing rather close to Suki. As usual, Shigure was toruring his poor editor.

It was now winter time and everyone was peparing for the first snowfall that was predicted to happen that evening. Kyou didn't want the snow, it was just as bad as rain, but he didn't mind the idea of having a few days off of school to spend with Tohru. He had been spending every night with her snuggled up. Sure when they snuggled he was a cat, but she held him and that's all that mattered.

The morning the snow storm was supposed to come, Kyou woke up in a wonderful mood. It was the weekend and he was next to the most beautiful girl in the world. Tohru was still asleep and Kyou didn't want to wake her. _She look so beautiful and peaceful. She looks like an angel._ Kyou thought. _She is an angel. My angel sent to me from above._ The little orange cat snuggled closer to her nuzzling her neck.

Tohru woke up giggling, while the cat purred. Kyou pulled back and looked at Tohru. "What's so funny?" He asked slightly aggitated.

Tohru giggled some more. "Your fur tickled." She said smiling and then pulling the cat close again and hugging him to her chest. She kissed the top of his head.

"Well if that's all." Kyou said, wriggling his way out of Tohru's embrace and then jumping off the bed. With a sudden poof, Kyou was back to being human and stood in the middle of the room looking for his clothes.

Tohru covered her eyes and her face flushed crimson. After just a few seconds, Kyou rolled Tohru over and pulled her hands from her face and kissed her soft lips, tenderly. "Better?" He asked nothing but affection in his eyes.

Tohru grinned and nodded. "Much better."

Kyou grinned back and kissed her once more. He left the room so Tohru could get dressed.

Tohru decided to put on her green sweater dress and white tights from Aya's shop. She pulled her half of her hair back in white ribbons. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She opened her door and there was Kyou waiting for her. She grinned and kissed his cheek.

They walked downstairs together hand-in-hand. they went to the kitchen where they made breakfast together. They decided on pancakes.

Shigure popped his head in upon smelling the food. "I see that you two are making some delicious pancakes. I can't wait! What a wonderful morning this is!" Shigure said and then walked to the dining room to wait.

"You know, for once I agree with that dumb dog." Kyou said looking at Tohru.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"That it's a wonderful morning. In fact, I think it's going to be a wonderful day." He then walked over and kissed Tohru's cheek.

Her cheeks turned pink and she smiled up at him. It truely was a wonderful morning and a wonderful day.

Everyone ate the pancakes and decided taht today would be a good day to do nothing. they all watched a movie. After the movie was over, they turned on the news to check on the weather. Snow was predicted to start any time now and from the looks of the clouds outside, for once the weather man was right. And in just a few seconds the snow was falling from the sky.

By six in the evening, a white blanket of snow covered the land. Everything looked so beautiful, winter magic transformed the land. However no one was ready to go outside. It was nice and warm inside and a perfect day to drink hot chocolate and stay by a nice warm fire.

A couple hours later, a knock came on the door. shigure got up to answer it and was stunned at who he found. "It's been too long, Shigure." came the flat cruel and yet familiar tone.

Shigure bowed respectfully. "Yes it has Akito. May I ask as to why you do me the honor of visiting my home?"

"Why yes of course. I am here to see Kyou and Tohru." Akito answered.

Shigure paniced slightly. No one had told Akito about Kyou and Tohru. He hoped he didn't know. "Come in." Shigure said moving and allowing Akito's entrance.

Akito walked to the living room and Kyou and Tohru had jumped so that they were a foot apart. Akito didn't know and they were scared of what he might do if he did know. "Now, now you don't have to hide anything from me." Akito said looking directly at the young couple.

"W-what are you talking about?" Tohru asked getting up and bowing respectfully to the head of the Sohma family.

"I mean that I know you two are together." Akito answered.

All three teenagers of the house looked wide-eyed at Akito. Everyone was speechless. What were they supposed to say?

"I am a little hurt that you didn't tell me the good news." Akito said. "I want you two to be happy."

"Th-th-thank you." Tohru said.

Akito smiled. "I think I will be staying a few days."

"I will get the guest room ready for you." shigure said and then left the room.

That night everyone slept, but not peacefully or soundly. Akito being in the house had everyone on edge. Kyou slept in Tohru's room, but on the floor so that he wouldn't be a cat. So that if Akito tried anything, he could protect Tohru.

Days passed and school, was closed from the snow. Akito satyed and observed. He could tell Kyou and Tohru were serious. He could also see that they were in love with each other. He could see it by the look in their eyes whenever they saw each other.

Those days Tohru had gone out of her way to please Akito and make sure everything was to his liking. She planned the meals based on what Akito wanted and she made sure to keep his things clean. She was so afraid and he could see that. He liked that. He liked the fear in their eyes, but still the love that was in Kyou and Tohru's eyes for each other angered him.

After a few days, Akito announced that he would be taking his leave. Tohru packed his bags for him and Kyou carried them out to the car. Akito asked Tohru to come out with him. He wanted her to escort him out. Yuki and shigure stood in the doorway watching and waiting.

Akito looked at Kyou and Tohru and then he pushed them down. "I can see the love in your eyes for each other and it disgusts me." He began angrily. "I will not tolerate this! We do not need you to break this curse!" He looked at Tohru now. "We can do it ourselves! And I will prove break your love for him!" With that Akito walked over to Kyou and pulled of his beads. He threw them to the ground and stepped on them to smash them.

Kyou's eyes got wide and then he transformed into his true form.

"He is stuck like this!" Akito said determined to break the love Tohru had for Kyou. "Forever! Can you still love him like this? No you can't. No one can love a monster like him!" Akito screamed.

Before Tohru could say anything, Kyou was running off into the woods. _Akito is right. No one can love me if I'm stuck like this forever!_ He thought as he ran to nowhere in particular. _I will always love you Tohru, but I know you can never love me, not like this._ The tears streamed down his face as he ran. He had to get away.


	25. Chapter 25

Tohru stood up and looked at Akito. She didn't even think, she just acted. She pushed Akito down and then ran following the tracks left by Kyou in the freshly fallen snow. _I have to find him!_ She thought as she raced after Kyou. As she ran after him her shoes came off and her white tights became soaked and cold from the snow, but she didn't care. She had to get to Kyou. She just had to.

_Back at the house..._

Akito laid on the ground stunned. Hatori pulled up in a car. "What's going on? You have to get up from the frozen ground." He said getting out of the car and moving to help Akito get up.

Akito just started laughing an evil laugh. He was on the border between sanity and insanity. "I have done it! They will never be together! Not now!" He said and then continued laughing.

Hatori pulled out a needle and gave Akito a shot in the back. Akito was knocked out in seconds. Hatori and shigure carried him into the house and laid him in the bed of the guest room. They all went downstairs and sat in the living room.

"What happened?" Hatori asked.

Shigure explained about Akito's unexpected visit and then about him smashing Kyou's beads.

"Let's hope that Akito was wrong." Hatori said wishing this hadn't happened. It made him think of what happened to Kana all those years ago.

_Tohru..._

Tohru ran following the tracks left by Kyou's true form. she thought back to the first time she had wittnessed his transformation. She had almost given in then, but then she had found the strength to find him and bring him back home. This time she needed no outside help.

Memories flashed through her mind as she raced through the snow her feet now numb to the cold. She remembered the first time she saw Kyou; the first time she turned him into a cute little cat; the first time she saw his true form; the first time they told each other how they felt; their first kiss; their first date; and every date and kiss since.

After what seemed like forever, Tohru finally found him. "Kyou!" She called racing up to him.

His giant monster head looked over at her. His heart ached for her, but he knew she couldn't love him, not anymore, not stuck like this forever. "Go away!" He yelled as tears streamed down his face.

"No!" She shouted back now reaching his side.

"I know why you came and you shouldn't have. I know you loved me before, but not even you can love me in this form, not like this forever." he said the tears choking him.

"Kyou Sohma." She said making him look at her. "You didn;t give me a chance to say anything and I want to tell you..."

He cut her off, "I know, you can't love me." He said. "I'm a monster, forever."

"Just shut up and let me talk!" Tohru shouted making Kyou jump.

Kyou stayed silent waiting for her to break his heart.

"I ran after you, not for the reason you think I did. I ran after you to tell you, that I love you. Even if you are stuck like this forever, no matter what I love you. You are my world, Kyou and I don't want anyone else. I only want you now and forever, even if you are stuck in this form forever. I love you." She said tears welling in her eyes.

Kyou looked at her stunned. She loved him. He could see it in her eyes. She really did love him. She wanted him even in this form, even as a monster, she wanted him and only him. He calmed down at this realization and transformed back into a human. he stood there barefoot and bare-chested in the snow looking at her. Kyou walked over to her and put his hands on either side of her face. "I love you, too." Kyou said as he pulled her lips to his and their tears fell and mixed together.

When they broke apart Tohru looked up at Kyou, "I love you, Kyou Sohma." She said smiling at him.

"And I love you, Tohru Honda." Kyou said smiling back. Even though he knew what would happen, he didn't care, and pulled Tohru into his arms.

Tihru wrapped her arms around Kyou and held on waiting for him to transform into the cat, but it didn't happen. "Uhm, Kyou?" she said her tone confused.

"What is it?" He asked not letting go.

"Why aren't you turning into a cat?" she asked.

"What?" Kyou said oulling away and looking down at his completely human body. then he smiled. "The curse must be broken." he pulled Tohru into his arms and held her. He let the tears flow down freely and joyfully. All the years of saddness and loneliness and emptiness flowed from joyfully down his face as he held his love.

Tohru wrapped her arms around Kyou and held him back. It was a happy day. She and Kyou were in love and the curse was broken. Even though it seemed to go bad, earlier everything had worked out.

Akito had sought to destroy their love, but he had only brought them closer together. Tohru and Kyou's love was strong and unbreakable and it was strong enough to break the curse.

**A/N: what do you guys think? I can't decide if I want this to be the ending of the story and then start a sequal or if I should continue this one. If you have any suggestions please read and review and let me know? **


	26. Chapter 26

Kyou felt Tohru shiver and then he realized where they were. "We should get back home." Kyou said as looked at Tohru in only her sweater dress and tights. Her tights were soaked and she looked like she was freezing.

Tohru nodded and pulled herself closer to Kyou. Kyou wrapped an arm around Tohru's waist and then bent down and put the other behind her knees. He scooped her up in his arms and started carrying her off to the house. He kissed her cheek and she wrapped her arms around his neck holding on tight. Kyou held Tohru close to him because, he loved her and for the warmth that it brought both of them.

After what seemed like an eternity the young lovers reached the house and entered the door. Kyou gently put Tohru down on her feet. He kept an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.

"You two are back!" Shigure said as he, Yuki, and Hatori entered the hallway.

Tohru looked up at Kyou as if to ask,_ Is it okay?_

He nodded knowing exactly what she wanted to do. He wanted her to do it, too. they needed to know for sure.

Without a word, Tohru walked over to Yuki and hugged him. To everyone's amazement, he stayed human. He did not transform. Tohru pulled away and looked at him seeing that he was still there.

"The curse is broken." Yuki, Hatori, and Shigure said together.

They all began to cry as the realization hit them. All the pain they had suffered released itself from their bodies in the escaping tears.

Hatori looked at Tohru through the tears in his eyes. "It's all because of you." He said and he walked over to her and embraced her tightly. Tohru had broken the curse with her love for Kyou, the monster, of the zodiac, and her acceptance of everyone in the family.

Tohru hugged Hatori back and smiled. she could tell everyone was crying tears of joy. She herself began to cry tears of joy along with them. Hatori pulled away from her and just smiled at her. "Thank you." He said.

Shigure being Shigure, had to say, "Okay my turn! Let me hug the pretty high school girl!" He then pulled Tohru into a tight hug. the hug was cut short however, by Kyou and Yuki hitting him.

Tohru laughed. She couldn't help it. It was normal and she loved it. Soon everyone else joined in her laughter. and Kyou moved next to her and put his arma around her and pulled her close.

Their laughter and happiness and excitement was interrupted by a thundering down the stairs. "How dare you!" shouted Akito. "We didn't need you to break the curse!" Akito flew at Kyou and Tohru. He separated them and shoved Kyou to the floor and held Tohru by her hair and shoved her face into the wall. "I tried to get you to go away, but you wouldn't leave! Now you've broken the curse! I was going to break the curse! I was going to live to be an old man and break the curse by not dying young, but you just couldn't leave well enbough alone!" He screamed as he broiught her head back and then shoved it hard against the wall.

Kyou was up and untangling Akito's fingers from Tohru's hair. Yuki saw what was happening and now he found the courage to face his abusor. He ran to Akito and shoved him against the wall. Kyou and hatori attended to Tohru who had been knocked unconscious by Akito.

Yuki smashed Akito's head against the wall and then hit him in the stomache. "This is for all the years of abuse I have suffered at your hand." He hit him again, "This is for Hatori and Kana." He hit him once again, "This is for Kyou and Miss Honda!" He said getting louder and hitting Akito once again, "And this is for everyone who has ever suffered by your hand, for all the lives you have ruined!" Yuki then let go of the man he had feared for years. "You should be greatful to Miss Honda. Because of her you can live to be an old man, but instead you hurt her for saving your life! Why? Because you wanted to be the one to break the curse? Who cares how it got broken as long as it did! Besides I like it this way better. Miss Honda has brought so much happiness to this family and she even wanted to be your friend and yet you hurt her!" Yuki shouted at Akito.

Akito stared blankly at the young man standing before him. Yuki had never stood up to him before. He had never had anyone raise their hand back to him, especially Yuki. He had always kept Yuki under his thumb and afraid, but now he wasn't. He knew that it was all because of Tohru.

Tohru slowly came back to consciouness. She felt a pounding in her head. She rubbed her head. she opened her eyes and looked up at Kyou and Hatori who were looking at her head. She had a rather large bump forming on her forehead, which was good because that meant there was no swelling on the inside. She then looked over to see Yuki standing over Akito and yelling at him. She saw Akito stand up and then smack Yuki.

"You insolent boy!" Akito yelled as he knocked Yuki to the ground.

Tohru saw the bruises forming on Akito's body. She realized that Yuki had used violence to fight violence. Tohru knew that violence wouldn't solve anything. She had broken the curse with love and she knew that love would solve this problem, too. Tohru pushed herself up and grabbed the wall top steady herself. Once again, she did not think, she just acted and walked over to Akito.

Akito looked at her confused as to what she would do. Was she going to push him down again? Was she going to hit him too?

Tohru shocked Akito by throwing her arms around him and embracing him in a hug. Everyone stared at them. Akito stood there looking at the little brunette hugging him. "I know you've suffered from this curse, too, Akito." She said tears in her eyes. "And I know that you haven't had the best life, and you have been angry and that's why you hurt the others, but the curse is broken now. You can live a good life. You can get out and see people. You can make friends and I'll be your friend."

Akito just stared at Tohru, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe what she was saying.

"I know you probably only acted that way, because you were afraid if you let them get to make friends and see people who weren't cursed, that maybe some people would be like me and accept them." She said still hugging him. "I know you were just afraid that if everyone found someone who loved and accepted him, that no one would come and see you. you were just afraid of being alone." She said striking Akito in the heart.

_She's right. How could she know? No one has ever thought about what this curse has done to me._ Akito thought. _No one has ever hugged me before._

"I'll be your friend Akito. I'll accept and love you as a friend." She said still not letting go of the man.

_No one has ever cared about me before. She cares and wants to be my friend. Even after the pain I have caused, she still says she'll love and accept me as a friend._ Akito thought. With those words Tohru had melted the ice that had grown around Akito's heart. Akito embraced Tohru in his arms and the loneliness that had engulfed him and been his companion all these years, left in a flood of tears. "Thank you, Tohru." He choked out.

Once again Tohru was right. Love was the answer. It always had been and she was just the person to deliver it. She had loved and accepted everyone she had met in the zodiac. It was her love and acceptance that had broken the curse and melted the ice heart of Akito Sohma. Love is, was, and always will be the answer.

**A/N: I decided that I would continue the story. I thought that this needed to be put in here. I recently read the book ****Tuedays with Morrie**** by Mitch Albom and it has inspired this chapter. I know from my friend that Tohru loving Kyou broke the curse, but I also wanted to make this chapter to show how much love does change people. I will prolly continue this story, but this chapter is a key moment to the story. Love is the answer. **


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